Week 8_Julie Guan_ASA114

“Diasporas, Displacements, and the Construction of Transnational Identities” by K. Scott Wong recaps the historical effects that impacted the identity of those from Asia, shifting their identities to ones that have transnational components. Specifically, Wong argues that transnationalism has become intertwined with the concept of identity, as well as, “race, ethnicity, gender, class, nationality” (Wong 47). He illustrates the experiences of Asians throughout history and their relation to the west with the use of research conducted by others such as Bourne, Hu-DeHart, Lesser, Lucious, and many others. Wong points out that Asia has had ties to the West ages before the discovery of the Americas since Columbus believed that the land he had “discovered” was India, demonstrating the transnational ties that Asian countries had with the West long ago. He notes that transnationalism started through trade between Asia and the West and expanded through the larger roles that the diaspora took on through immigrants. Moreover, Wong concludes that an individual’s cultural identity is not stagnant due to the expansion of capitalism, cultural identities have changed to become transnational ones. This reading relates to the theme of displacements because being displaced from your home country leads to a shift in your cultural identity to become one that is transnational. A modern-day example of this reading would be what many Asian Americans feel with their identity, where they feel a disconnect between the culture of their homeland and where they currently reside. This is also where the concept of “whiteness” (Wong 46) plays a large role in the identities of those within the diaspora.

Question:
On page 48, the word "right-sized" was used to describe the globalization of capitalism that has shifted manufacturing to Latin America and Asia. What exactly does "right-sized" mean in this context? 

Works Cited:

https://www.canindia.com/the-issue-of-identity-and-culture-is-complex/

K. Scott Wong. "Diasporas, Displacements, and the Construction of Transnational Identities." Displacements.