Sunday, November 22, 2015

Week 8 - Charles Miin

Charles Miin
ASA 114
November 22, 2015

Week 8 - Diasporas, Displacements, and Construction of Transnationalism

                Within reading the first few lines of K. Scott Wong’s work about 20th Century social critic Randolph S. Bourne, it is readily apparent that his views were far different than what many of us would have expected. As a personal aside, I even discussed this very issue the day prior to writing this post with an individual who fervently believed the exact opposite of what Bourne suggests in people adhering to personal identity. He believes that citizenship should not be existing in the borders of a land but has to do more with the individual. In a time where isolationism was the preferred method of engagement with the world played a stark contrast to what Bourne was the only voice suggesting more involvement in global affairs in regards to immigration and interaction overall especially when concerning Europe. Asia’s interaction with the Americas however, was a different story that began as early as the 16th century. Fast forward to the end of the 19th century which saw the forced annexation of both the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines by U.S. Imperial forces. This allowed for the establishment of trade dominance in the Pacific and a strong exchange of Pacific Islanders with the Americas in the form of laborers. Xenophobic perception towards East Asian migrants however stopped their migration until it was fully relaxed in the mid-20th century. It’s quite possible that we’re on the eve of a repeat of this social hysteria with the current Syrian Refugee crisis which is seeing entire states in the U.S. fall victim to the idea of all practitioners of the Islamic faith wishing ill on the rest of the world. The vast majority of right-wing political governors have pledged to close their borders to the refugees, essentially choosing to leave them to a fate of death.
Is the foundation of transnational migration and equality that the U.S. was built on strong enough to penetrate through hysteria and help those that people wrongly consider to be enemies?


Anderson, Wanni W. and Robert G. Lee Eds. 2005. Displacements and Diasporas: Asians in the
Americas . New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.


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