Week1_EstherLai_ASA114

Esther Lai

ASA 114

Week 1

            Wanni W. Anderson and Robert G. Lee’s “Asian American Displacements” explore and set the definition for diaspora and what it entails for the Asian communities all around the world. Starting with a brief history of Asian migration to the Americas, Anderson and Lee focus on the globalization aspect of the changing modern world as the main reason why this mass migration of intellectuals and laborers from Asia outward is occurring. Anderson and Lee then shift their focus to the dilemma on how or how not to distinguish Asian and Asian American studies from each other to teach the diasporic communities about their history and their social standings with the country they are in in relation to political, social, and economic factors. The transnational relationship that these diasporic communities have with their “homelands” serve to help understand these distant Asian communities who are far away. The focus then shifts to the concept of displacement and how it shares similarities with the definition of diaspora except it also draws in the cultural aspect of these people who are physically away from their homelands. Different types of displacement can affect different groups of people differently, for example, native peoples who are culturally deprived and displaced due to colonization. The identity politics that displacement and diasporic communities create cause for new cultural identities to be created and to be further researched into this “new” understanding of diasporic and displaced communities all over the world. I think that it’s important for people, not just those in diasporic or displaced communities, to understand just how impactful and important having a physical and cultural connection to one’s own homeland and background is and how it shapes us to be who we are. By understanding these concepts, I think that it would be much easier for people to not be afraid to feel lost and misunderstood about one’s identity, instead to explore their communities abroad and understand their own cultural backgrounds. 

            Currently in the world, Syria is facing massive displacement issues due to war. War makes up a huge proportion of the reason why people get displaced all over the world. With bomb dropping  and aerial raids constantly occurring, it is crucial for civilians to be constantly on the move to avoid being killed. It has been estimated that around 1.5 million Syrians have been displaced and got taken under refuge by Turkey (Doctors Without Borders). This displacement shows just how displacements can be forced and unexpected for victims in war. 

Question: How will  Asian Americans/Australians/Brazilians/etc., traveling to their Asian homelands to reconnect with their culture affect Asian studies and the diaspora aspect of Asian American/Australian/Brazilian/etc., studies?

Works Cited: 

“Displacement and Despair in Northwest Syria.” Doctors Without Borders - USA, Doctors Without Borders - USA, 10 Jan. 2020, www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/news-stories/story/displacement-and-despair-northwest-syria.