Week 10 ___ Anna Yang

In the reading of Theorizing Diasporas by Regina Lee, she explains the three different and main types of psych states and consciousness. These types are first idealization of a person's homeland, multicultural manifestation and transitional identity in politics. These topics are connected to the class and overall course that we have learned about different diasporas. In the first type of homeland idealization which means a strong connection to the person's homeland and feeling like a certain belonging towards it than the one you actually live in. For lee, it is that by idealizing a homeland, you, yourself feel trapped and isolated from this sense of belonging that is so far away. With globalization being inherently connected through both lands, it can help mend the connection and reduce feelings of isolation and allow them to build a hybrid connection of being able to feel home away from home.

Q : If globalization helps boosts economy, how can it help promote hybrid cultures for diasporas abroad?

Week 1 and 2, Anthony Tran, ASA 114

In week one, there was the topic of Introduction & Course Guidlines / Definition of Diaspora. The readings came from Kieu-Linh Valverde for the first reading the second is from Anderson and Lee. The piece “Transnationalizing Viet Nam'' was interesting because of the discussion of what a diaspora is “tends to evoke a sense of positive connections to a homeland, but sometimes a country and parts of its overseas population do not have good relations” (1-2). The work focuses on the connections between the Vietnamese and its overseas population in the United States. The chapter shows the significance of the Cold War and their impacts on Vietnam with the United States. With the other histories discussed, anticommunism and how it affected everyone including North Vietnam was an enormous factor of how people were so hurt and can be seen with the feelings between the diaspora and the homeland. The Anderson and Lee piece focuses on the harsh realities between class and rave on a global scale and “serves to contain and to neutralize [Ethnic Studies] as an emergent discipline.” (16).

Q: What do the authors mean when they say “neutralize” ethnic studies? 

In week two, there was the topic of globalization. In the article “The Ordeal of Ethnic Studies in the Age of Globalization” by E. San Juan Jr., there is a discussion of “war on terrorism” and events of September 11, 2001 and the aftermath which still hurt many people of color today. People too frequently have targets based o ethnic and racial stereotypes and “homeland having automatically undergone surveillance and security checks” (270). The Evelyn Hu-Dehart reading talked about the visibility of Asian Americans in the United States and how we are still misrepresented with the model minority stereotype with our “largely immigrant nature” (8). 

Q: how can we start combatting the nature of model minority stereotyping beyond counter narratives? In regards to globalization, how can we benefit from that erasure? 

ASA 114 Leng Vang_Week 10

In the reading, "Crossing Borders of Disciplines and Departments, we see the racism and injustice that Muslim face after the terrorist attack of 9/11.  Muslim were discriminated against across the nations, losing jobs, being arrested indiscriminately, being deported for no reasons, etc.  The notion of prejudice because of what you are is not new to Asian Americans. 
Now, Asian Americans are being deported back to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos because of crimes they have committed in their youth.  Some of these Asians are arrested for insignificant crimes like possession of marijuana which the government has deemed crimes that are deportable.  Also, with the news of corona-virus in the world, Asian Americans especially Chinese are facing racism and prejudice worldwide because they are deem to have the virus just because they are Asian or Chinese. 

Is there a way for Asian Americans to stand together as a whole to combat these racism and prejudice ? Or do you think that Asian American groups are too divide to stand together?


Work Cited.

Anderson and Lee. "Crossing Borders of Disciplines and Departments." Displacements.

Image:https://phnompenhpost.com/national/nine-new-us-deportees-touch-down-kingdom

Week 10 - Mimi Le

Anderson and Lee “Crossing Borders of Disciplines and Departments” raised awareness  to the 9/11 attack that caused racial inequality and social injustice  to American Americans, especially Arabs and Muslims, that they had to face. By being deported for small crimes such as traffic violation and immigrants struggling to find work in America took a huge toll on some families. The way Sher Singh was brutally shot after proven not being a terrorist, having to justify his business trip in order to be released from an arrest that didn’t need to happen in the first place. It caused an uproar in the community, showing the injustice that was brought upon him. Following events of immigrants being shot dead in front of gas stations how Muslims were now new targets. This is upsetting because similar to the corona virus, people are finding excuses to act a certain way or be racist towards Asian Americans.



Question: Does history actually repeat itself? Are people reverting back to the racial inequality that once divided the nation?

Work Cited:

Anderson and Lee. “Crossing Borders of Disciplines and Departments.” Displacements.

https://ephemeralempire.wordpress.com/2017/11/17/161/amp/

Week 10 Presentation

Reading 1: Parrenas and Siu “New Conceptions, New Frameworks.” Asian Diasporas

Diaspora is defined for the book, Asian Diasporas: New Formations, New Conceptions as an ongoing and contested process of subject formation embedded in a set of cultural and social relations that are sustained simultaneously with the "homeland" (real or imagined), place of residence, and compatriots or coethnics dispersed elsewhere" (1, Parrenas). They argue that diaspora studies is an ongoing political and social project that transcends the binary of homeland vs. place of residence. In Asian American Studies, the diaspora largely focuses on this binary. They recognize the danger of pointing out Asia with its geographical proximity and racial and cultural similarities. Asia is both heterogeneous and vastly different while simultaneously produced as a pan-ethnic, homogeneous entity that is produced in Asian American studies, political projects, etc. Asia also provides an undeniable opposing identity to the West. Recognizing the diaspora as resistance also means recognizing the larger structures that play at community and individual levels. Typical examples of these include globalization, social inequities, and racism or xenophobia. Diaspora is a constantly shifting dynamic and identity. It is being a part of something while existing somewhere else as well as never being a part of either fully. To participate, one needs certain conditions for consistent re-identification. To understand diasporas, one has to explore and understand both the making of and the experience of being in the diaspora. Some diasporic populations are dislodged from political participation and social representation, without a choice. This is an example of double displacement. In the diaspora, there can be multiple forms of displacement whether physically or socially on a number of levels. And those displacements can happen double or even triple fold. The meaning of diaspora transcends meaning "home". It also represents the loyalty and connection one may feel to their homeland. Ethnic identities are actively constructed based on the amount and type of displacements one may have, the social atmosphere, economic standing of the host country, and dispersed community of coethnics globally. 

Reading 2: Anderson and Lee “Crossing Borders of Disciplines and Departments” Displacements

This chapter introduces Nancy Abelmann and San Juan’s political and ethical implications on globalization. Shortly after 9/11 attack happened, a man named Sher Singh, a Sikh American, was stopped from a train to be arrested. To people, they deemed him as a terrorist from the way he was dressed (turban and bearded). The news quickly spread, media decided to have their own inputs on the situation, and Singh was able to prove that he was not a terrorist after being searched down to only carrying a sacred knife on him, that everyone in his culture carries. His arrest triggered multiple similar events that follow, and others being targeted and shot dead. Life after this for immigrants, especially Asian immigrants to have eyes on them. The state became hostile and intrusive. Unemployment to the community was real and deportation of families for little things such as traffic ticket was uncanny. Hundreds of Arab and Muslims had to register with Immigration and Homeland Service, most ended up being detained and deported. The mass arrest, government surveillance, and deportations of immigrants showcase the racial injustice that the American government possesses. Abelmann introduces how transnational experiences can shape the international students experiences with Korean American interactions. By disclosing the fact that one is more Korean than other and raises the issues of interdisciplinary borderlands. We move onto San Juan who reminds us that 9/11 attack contradicts race and class on a global scale. By reminding us of the social injustice that globalization has brought upon Asian American. The study of American Asian goal is how to build the Asian American community to better the world than to understand the American society. 

Reading 3: Nancy Abelmann “Anthropology, Asian Studies, Asian American Studies” Displacement

This chapter reflects on Abelmann’s complications she encountered when attempting to offer a course titled, “The English Language Ethnography of Korea.” She later receives a letter that asks her to “limit the course by design to ONLY English literature, as English is the medium in which that campus teaches. Abelmann believed that despite the backlash that she faced when trying to implement this course into University of Illinois’ campus, Abelmann firmly believed that the topics she would cover would delimit the field beyond what the title implies. We see this in a lot of academia today, where certain courses have to follow a certain curriculum and anything that diverts from that curriculum doesn’t necessarily see the light of day. Unfortunately, like most folks that try to implement an ethnic studies course, not only do they meet many restrictions, they also face the harsh reality that “there are rules that have to be met,” implying that the only way to get classes approved for curriculum is to have meet the standards of those in charge of what is allowed to be taught on these campuses. 

Reading 4: Ien Ang “Beyond “Asian Diaspora” Asian Diasporas

    Ien Ang first indicates that the essays in this book Asian Diasporas attempts to examine the movement of Asian folks and it's complicated history. Ang then goes on to redefine diasporas, as in today’s context, the term now includes all groups who “have a history of dispersion, groups variously referred to as immigrants, expatriates, refugees, guest workers, exile communities, overseas communities, ethnic minorities, etc.” Ang further describes that the term is reserved for collectives that were not fully accepted and alienated from dominant culture. 

    Ang then indicates that although diaspora was mainly used to describe past traumatic experiences of a group, but now focuses on trauma in the present through the forms of marginalization and discrimination from nation-states. Diasporas are no longer centered around the past experiences and their motivations for diasporic movements are now centered around the “heightened process of globalization.” in other words, because of how prominent globalization is, especially under the context of how it interconnects everyone so much easier, not only does it stray away from using traumatic experiences as a motivation factor for diasporic movement, but also the notions of empowerment, enrichment, and expansion have become a central part of migration as well. 

    Lastly, Ang describes that there are no Asian diasporas, rather seeing diasporas as Asian. Looking at it through this angle allows for “highlighting the shifted and situated multiplicity of identities and trajectories that now characterize the lives of millions of people with regard to whom the term asian says both too much and too little,” and these term “Asian” needs to be further aggregated in order to understand the differences economically, socially, and politically between those that fall under the Asian umbrella. 

Reading 5: Regina Lee “Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness” 

Regina Lee differentiates between "three types of consciousness", labeling them as 

"Homeland Idealism", "Boutique Multiculturalism", and "Transitional or Transformational Identity Politics". Homeland Idealism largely has to do with nostalgia, idealization of a mythical homeland, as well as the physical, cultural, and psychological displacement from it. These dislocations place a focus on the "return to the homeland" as a powerful motivator for diasporic experiences. Many immigrants migrate with the intention of returning back home. The journey back is most likely pushed back farther than initially anticipated. Eventually reality drastically reduces the chances of returning home at all. Lee argues that this sort of diaspora is "trapped within an idealized historical space and time". Generally, the homeland idealization community is marginalized for its physical displacement from the homeland and social exclusion from host society. Globalization and national economic value determines cultural, class, and community relations. 

Boutique Multiculturalism is about negotiating differences, where race and ethnicity are the most significant. It transforms ethnicity into an accolade so much so that sometimes, professionals can take advantage of it and transform it into economic value. By holding onto what makes you "different" in the name of cultural pride, boutique multiculturalism actually plays into the same power structures that keep minorities subordinate in the first place. Lee condemns professionals who profit off multiculturalism and normalize the concept by creating spaces and literary pieces that support that idea. Boutique multiculturalism does not bring about equality by claiming your ethnicity. Rather, it creates a different standard based on your ethnicity, further deepening the divide that separates minorities from Caucasian people. 

Lastly, transitional or transformational ethnic identities are a highly politicized category. A good representation of it is the hyphen that exists in most ethnic identities. For example, Chinese-Australian or Asian-American. The first word represents an idealized homeland, where the second represents the somewhat problematic present location. The transitional ethnic identity is aptly named, because it is consistently ambivalent that highlights the shaky aspect of diasporic identities. 

Work Cited: 

Parrenas and Siu. “New Conceptions, New Frameworks.” Asian Diasporas.

Robe Dipesh Chakrabarty. “Notes toward a Conversation between Area Studies and Diasporic Studies.”

Anderson and Lee. “Crossing Borders of Disciplines and Departments.” Displacements.

Nancy Abelmann. “Anthropology, Asian Studies, Asian American Studies.” Displacements.

Ien Ang. ““Beyond “Asian Diaspora.” Asian Diasporas.

Regina Lee. “Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness.”

Week 10: Neil Castro - ASA 114

Source: Map of the South East Asian Diaspora 

In Regina Lee's article Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness, she talks about the three characteristics of the Diaspora. In this article, they are the idealized homeland where immigrants move to away from their home in order to attain some kind of gain whether it is social or monetary gain, the incorporation of new cultures as the article talks about how the diaspora mixes with other cultures in order to create what in this class called "Hybrid Cultures" and the framing of the moving of going between countries which can be noted as the experience of their homeland and adopted country, This article reiterates what the class has been teaching about. The diaspora is when people move to provide some stability that they might never had when living in the their homeland but how there is an interconnected-ness or the globalization/transnational effect of understanding it. This article captures how the class is being taught. To understand the the notions of the diaspora within a globalization and transnational aspect in our post-modern world. 

What happens if there are new ways to transform the diaspora like how the internet did at the start of the post-modern era?

Works Cited

Regina Lee. “Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness.”

Week 10, Anthony Tran, ASA 114

In this week’s discussion (with no particular topic in Asian diasporas), we have seven readings. Of all of them, I found Ien Ang’s “Beyond ‘Asian Diasporas’” to be quite interesting in how they brought up transnational marriages and really well redefined the term diaspora. Transnational marriages with the complexities of gender politics, interracial and intrracial racism, religion, and the title of legalities, being a “legal” or “illegal” citizen. With even more complex topics of Vietnamese men and women being treated very differently when migrating to America, and the Japanese Brazilians being treated differently when they return to Japan. Even in the homeland are they not treated the same. Though out the rest of the reading, I found the definition of diasporas to be quite refreshing. The concept is definitely not new, but it was good review. I liked the example with the Jewish, because their history, it bring in a different level of complexity where they do not have a homeland necessarily. They were displaced multiple times, but a sense of “longing for a return to the homeland is classically assumed too be integral to diaspora consciousness” (Ang 286). But with what we’ve been talking about in class very often is just connection to the homeland, whether that is physically (born there and leaving) or ambivalence, like love/hate. 

Q: Can we go over more common stories with multiple displacement outside of the Vietnam War? Or is that the biggest one in recent Asian history? 

 

Week 10_Toan Tran_ASA 114

Ien Ang, in their work “‘Beyond ‘Asian DIasporas’,” addresses the perspectives of the term “Diaspora” in the context of different Asian groups and how it’s differed over time from when it was used to describe Jewish people. They state that “a longing for a return to the homeland is classically assumed to be integrated to diasporas consciousness,” and that “all peoples must have a territorially specific homeland and that living away from it is an unnatural and undesirable condition,” (Ang, 286). This was the view of the term back then, but as Ang mentions, it has evolved over the years, especially in the context of Asia. Nowadays, it is used in a “more generalized sense to refer to all kinds of groups who have a history of dispersion…immigrants, expatriates, refugees, guest workers, exile communities, overseas communities, ethnic minorities, and so on.” (Ang, 286) It is important to acknowledge and realize that this is the paradigm we must look at our communities with, because it can help us understand our fellow people more. 

Q: How has the shift in the understanding of the term “diaspora” affected researchers in their studies of different ethnic communities?

Work Cited

Ang, Ien. “Beyond Asian Diasporas”

Image: https://www.google.com/search?q=asian+diaspora&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS789US789&sxsrf=ALeKk00XuvmPhri_KmLLe7CrdWUDs9byxA:1583665400281&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUv4Gt3YroAhXvFjQIHSSFCOYQ_AUoAnoECA0QBA&biw=1440&bih=797&dpr=2#imgrc=iJ1bqZ0vuPD36M

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Week 10_Natalie Lortz_ ASA114

Regina Lee's, "Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness" isolates three different ytypes of consciousness as  Homeland Idealization, Boutique Multiculturalism, and Transitional Ethnic Identities. Homeland idealization describes a community with a nostalgic longing for the homeland, romanticizing a return, and picturing the homeland as frozen in space and time. Boutique multiculturalism is similar to liberal multiculturalism as we discussed in class. It is when people utilize their ethnicity as a badge of honor, differentiating themselves from white people for profit and recognition. It uses their history and background as an accolade and creates a separate set of standards for themselves. Finally, transitional ethnic identity is an ambivalent, ever changing sort of identity in which the distance between where your ancestors came from and where you are presently located is highlighted in one's identity.

Personally, the description of  boutique multiculturalism and Lee's attack on professionals that profit off it stood out to me the most. It led me to reflect on myself. Recently, I wrote a blog post for my internship about being multi-racial. In it, I tried very hard to tell a storyline about how I take pride in my cultural heritage despite family members, acquaintances, and friends questioning or flat out denying my identity. Writing it was empowering for me. Multiracial politics probably has a hand to play in this situation as well, but reading about how certain professionals utilize boutique multiculturalism actually plays into the same power structures that exist and create different standards depending on your ethnicity disturbed me a little. I can see Lee's point of view in the context that she explains it, however, I don't agree that it is a negative thing. For so long, people of color have been excluded from pay and high social circles that white people can be born into. I think it's fair that Asian Americans have found a way to utilize their distinction for economic gain, rather than continue with the same story. If Asian Americans are read by a different standard, then I feel that is just accepting the reality that they are measured by a different standard.  While I don't endorse boutique multiculturalism per se, I see no issue with people embracing their culture and being unafraid to discuss it.

Week 10_Joshua Liu_ASA 114

Regina Lee's Theorizing Diasporas discusses how there are three main types of psychological states, or forms of consciousness. These states are the idealization of the homeland, boutique multicultural manifestation, and transitional/transformational identity politics. As I was reading Lee's work, I was particularly interested in the third psychological state. According to Lee, conceptualization diasporas as transitional or transformational states represents their informed integration with host societies. The major implication from this viewpoint is that it proves that the diasporas are constantly evolving. The dynamic nature of diaspora is mainly caused by the balance between where people are from, and where they are currently act. This is consistent with the discussions regarding transnationalism and globalization that we had earlier in the quarter. As both nations change, the experience of all members of a diaspora, regardless of age, will as well. As seen in the examples regarding Vietnamese culture, such as the Viet Kieu experience, or the Communist Flag controversies in the U.S., maintaining a balance between these two perspectives is a key factor in the diaspora.

Question: Will there ever be a point in time where the diaspora no longer has a dynamic nature that balances transitional/transformation identity politics?

Week 10- Sidney Siu

Sidney Siu
ASA 114
Week 10

In Theorizing Diasporas: Three Types of Consciousness, by Regina Lee, the author discusses the ways in which diaspora is looked at through ideology and themes of perception. She directly notes three types of diasporic consciousness, which include Homeland Idealism, Conception of diasporas as exotic, and conception of a transnational/transitional identity. She also mentions how significant the concept of "forgetting" is. This is deeply analyzed in a journal called Imagined Homelands, by Salman Rushdie. He dissects how being away from the homeland commonly leads to the creation of false memories or fictions of the place, people, etc. Another post he makes is the way people can create these fictions by making up happenings in their minds based off of old pictures.
This is an experience that greatly impacts the Asian diaspora due to the lostness and reminiscing feeling that is present after immigrating. Many immigrants just see their homeland as their normative standard of living, however, when venturing to a new land, it is likely that outsiding nations conceptualize the immigrant nation and the diaspora to be exotic or mysterious. There are so many factors that lead to the misconceptions of Asian countries and its people, but Lee touches on key themes that interrupt the diaspora. How does knowing these theories impact readers of the Asian diaspora?

Week 10_Miguel Flores_ASA 114

Asian Diaspora – the running joke in class: “What is Diaspora!?” is essentially the context of the readings that we read for this week—defining diaspora as a framework in evaluating the conditions and status of the Asian American Diaspora and their deep connections to their homeland. The term diaspora as Parenas and Siu discussed their chapter in the book Asian Diaspora as an aspect in the study of Ethnic Studies; as interconnections between different diasporas are becoming more apparent and complicated, it calls for a deep analysis of these entanglements and how it affects the way we as a society become globalized part of our communities. The term and the study of the diaspora is a process towards how hybrid cultures are made and how events from the homeland and here in the United States affect our interactions and the makeup of our realities. It diverges into many subjectivities that elaborate our understanding of the formation of communities and how their beliefs, traditions, cultures, politics, and economy affect what is happening here and in their homeland.

            In academia, Robert Lee in his chapter in the book Displacements and Diaspora it reinforces our preconceived notions as effects of circumstances that may have affected our understanding of people, cultures, and beliefs. Lee refers to the example of “war or terror” and how that ideology lingered in the minds of the people and perpetuated intensified racialization and extreme racism towards Muslim Americans. It formed Islamophobia and it radicalizes the faith of Islam as negative and counters to the patriotic beliefs of American citizens. Such circumstances call for the study of the Muslim American diaspora, a study that investigates these interconnections and negative sentiments towards the diaspora of Muslim Americans. Nancy Abelman, on the other hand, uses the ideology of diaspora in her study of the Korean Americans and “Korean Koreans” and the perpetuation of the concept of “intra-ethnic othering.” Through her ethnographic research and her utilization of the diasporic ideologies, she was able to complicate our understanding of othering and how within an ethnic group, the act stereotyping is enacted. It is interesting to witness and learn how the study of Diaspora diverges into different conversations. Professor Valverde is an expert in Diaspora, and it would be interesting if this could become a major because it is such an expansive concept. But for now, as students of Asian American Studies, what other ways of understanding can you think of when you hear the term “Diaspora?”

Reference:

Anderson and Lee. “Crossing Borders of Disciplines and Departments.” Displacements

“Diaspora matters: Kingsley Aikins at TEDxVilnius” YouTube. uploaded by TEDx Talks, 25 February 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ_y5LgM7D0

Nancy Abelmann. “Anthropology, Asian Studies, Asian American Studies.” Displacements

Parrenas and Siu. “New Conceptions, New Frameworks.” Asian Diasporas

Week10_EmmanuelCapua_ASA114

    Regina Lee’s “Theorizing Diasporas: Three Types of Consciousness” analyzes three types of diasporic consciousness: Homeland Idealism, Conception of diasporas as exotic, and conception of a transnational/transitional identity. One of the main arguments that Lee makes is that migration is closely linked, if not the main benefactor, to economic motivations to migrate, and uses the three diasporic consciousness types to prove her analysis. 

    One of the standout points occurs when Lee discusses how to convey a sense of “nation-ness” through shared commonalities. Lee shares that forgetting is a crucial factor in the creation of a nation (Lee 2004). Lee later continues by stating, “Commonality, of great significance here because it legitimizes the nation-state’s claim to homogeneity, leads to the imagination and idealization of a pure, unified self” (Lee 2004). Essentially what is being implied is that by claiming that a nation state shares this commonality, especially in America’s case of claiming “liberty and justice for all,” it creates the idea that America is the land that has no disparities and opportunities for folks to come and have their share of economic mobility. But, as we know, a lot of folks don’t experience that commonality that America claims and continue to live in the margins. This simply just goes to show the power that America holds when controlling a narrative, 

Question: What are some best practices to maintain homeland culture while gaining access and privilege in another country? 

Source: 

https://brianturchyn.net/running-a-diaspora-pod/
Lee, R. "Theorizing Diasporas: Three Types of Consciousness." Asian Diasporas: Cultures, Identities, Representations. Ed. Robbie Goh and Shawn Wong. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2004. Online.

Week 10_ Joyce Vea _ASA114

In Regina Lee’s “Theorizing Diasporas: Three Types of Consciousness” she discusses three froms of consciousness exhibited by the diaspora: “idealization of homeland, boutique multicultural manifestation, and transitional/transnational identity politics” (p. 53). Homeland idealization basically speaks of the diaspora’s distant connection to the home country, and the myth of return that serves as a powerful motivation for the community. Due to the physical separation from the homeland and exotic othering by the host country, the community is trapped by the idealized concept of home. Boutique multicultural manifestation describes the rise of multicultural cities — leading to the race and ethnicity becoming an important marker of identity. Diasporic people gather together in similar spaces because they feel a connection with others from the same community who also experience separation from the homeland. Transitional identity politics relates to the hyphen that exists to represent diasporic people that are caught in between the home and host identities, who are part in a unique community themselves.

Questions: What are present and future issues that threaten the diaspora? How are ethnic enclaves important to building solidarity in the homeland? How is film contributing to the diaspora and the community's experience with displacement?

Sources:
Lee, Regina. "Theorizing diasporas: Three types of consciousness." Asian diasporas: Cultures, identities, representations (2004): 53-76.
Image: browndailyherald.com

Week10_Emily_Ninh_ASA114

Regina Lee’s chapter “Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness” breaks down how we should understand diaspora. “I want to begin with the argument that diasporic communities tend to exhibit, broadly, three main types of psychological states, or forms of consciousness, which are: idealization of homeland, boutique multicultural manifestation, and transitional/transformational identity politics” (Lee 53-54). Lee argues that these three forms while are not all encompassing, they still highlight the important basis of a diaspora. In particular with boutique multicultural manifestation, “A direct effect of globalization has been the increase in cultural plurality, giving rise to more and more multicultural societies, resulting in debates over the granting of equal recognition and equal worth to minority cultures” (Lee 61). With more communities emigrating to the U.S., there are more people that do not fit in the majoritarian White story. For example, growing up at school in Texas in Seattle, we were mainly taught state and U.S. history. We rarely branched out to learn about other countries or other people’s history. Even when we learned about the Vietnam War in AP U.S. History, we only discussed how college students protested it and how it was a “quagmire” for the U.S. I had the privilege of taking ASA classes with Professor Maira to learn about the true history of the Vietnam War, yet many do not get this opportunity.

How can we create a society that gives “equal recognition and equal worth to minority cultures” (Lee 61)?

Bibliography

Regina Lee. “Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness.”

https://simplifypersonalproductivity.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/leaders-can-be-found-anywhere-and-everywhere/ 

Week10_Kelly Wang_ASA 114

Nancy Abelmann's chapter, "Anthropology, Asian Studies, and Asian American Studies" in the book Displacements and Diasporas discusses the micropolitics of academic localities as well as the miscommunication between these academic localities. Abelmann expresses how she believes colleges and universities need to also foster faculty and administrative training since "professionals need to be given the time, safe spaces, and collaborative settings in which to collectively rethink - with open minds - the transforming systems of our times" (p. 266). I also agree with Nancy's call to action and believe that in an area such as ethnic studies, theories and concepts in the class are everchanging. Having a collaborative setting among faculty and administrators is what can lead to open discussions about the institutionalized micropolitics in higher education, such as the politics of official knowledge. Education should be a practice of freedom, however, it is currently not group neutral since the dominant group is what selects what is taught as well as what stories are told. Relating to the pedagogy of the oppressed, having faculty and administrative training is what can help free the student body from only being taught hegemonic ideologies as well as tackle institutionalized racism.

Week10_Esther Lai_ASA114

Anderson and Lee’s “Crossing Borders of Disciplines and Departments” discusses the ways that 9/11 changed the overall atmosphere and attitude towards immigrants in the United States and beyond. The attitude and behavior towards immigrants who look like “terrorists” negatively affected the immigrant community, especially Muslim Americans and those who looked like them.With the United States intensifying their surveillance and authority over immigrants and immigration policies, the transnational Asian experience has changed for the worse, even after all the anti-immigration policies that have occurred before in the 1990s. The social, political, and epistemological implications of 9/11 globally has forever changed the image of immigrants in the United States towards a more policed, surveilled, and prejudiced state than it ever was before, creating a dangerous and unwelcoming space for immigrants and people of their diasporas. The impacts of 9/11 still lingers in the world today, like the TSA being very strict on items being carried into airports and their racial profiling of people by “randomly searching” people of color. The mass surveillance that the government has put on immigrants, especially those who look to be of religions of Muslim or Sikh, due to lack of education on their end, is still very prevalent today with anti-Muslim sentiments (Handeyside). Blind prejudice and racial profiling still exists today and it seems like there is no stopping it anytime soon.

Photo Source: https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/racial-profiling-tsa-airport-security

Sources Cited:
Handeyside, Hugh. “New Documents Show This TSA Program Blamed for Profiling Is Unscientific and Unreliable - But Still It Continues.” American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union, 22 Apr. 2019, www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/discriminatory-profiling/new-documents-show-tsa-program-blamed-profiling.

ASA 114 Jennifer Nguyen Bernal Week 10

Jennifer Nguyen Bernal

Professor Valverde

ASA 114

In the reading "Beyond "Asian Diasporas" by Ien Ang explains the experiences of Asians and the Asian diasporas gave insight into issues they have dealt with within Asia and other countries around the world. The Asian diasporas have a long history that is complicated to explain due to their movement to parts of Asia and different parts of the world. Asian diaspora groups have shown us that we can look past the boundaries and categories that have been set for us in society since their experience can't represent one category of Asians. It made sense when the first connect the term diaspora by telling the Jews faced displacement from their homeland. I thought of diaspora as a negative term due to the experience from groups of people living in the host country like refugees and those who don't feel welcome in a different country. I didn't get the chance to hear about the diasporic experiences within Asian countries and countries other than America. Diasporic groups are not categorized since they don't feel that they belong in the homeland or the host country. It's incredible how the diaspora groups around the world had a difficult time keeping in touch with their mother country. Cultural globalization made it possible for the diasporic group to stay in touch with the mother country like media and fast transportation. The terms Asia and Asian are in different categories due to the " economic, social, political "( Ang 289) in the countries. The term Asian diaspora has created a structure that explains the transnational and globalization of people moving in and out of Asia to different parts of the world.

What are the terms of disoprice groups from other countries since countries like China use the term “modern Chinese transnationalism”( Ang 287)? Are the disoprice group value in different countries? 

Parreñas Rhacel Salazar., and Lok C. D. Siu. Asian Diasporas: New Formations, New Conceptions. Stanford University Press, 2007.

http://www.thisissierraleone.com/african-leaders-call-for-integration-with-diaspora/

Week 10_Julie Guan_ASA114

The piece, “Theorizing Diasporas: Three Types of Consciousness” by Regina Lee focuses on the concept of the diaspora arguing that “diasporic communities tend to exhibit … three main types of psychological states … which are: the idealization of homeland, boutique multicultural manifestation, and transitional/transformational identity politics” (Lee 54). This chapter discusses the topics that we have touched on throughout this quarter in class. Lee demonstrates the impacts of globalization upon the diaspora that reiterates the three states that the diaspora demonstrates. She speaks of homeland idealism which is a strong identification with the homeland by the diaspora. In this class, we noted that the diaspora has a connection to the homeland. Lee states that the idea of the homeland traps the diaspora within an idealized state where they feel isolated from both the home and host countries due to their idealization of home. Globalization plays a role in that by motivating the migration of the diaspora but also connecting the diaspora to the homeland through the process of transnationalism. Furthermore, globalization had an impact on the development of multicultural societies but also reinforced the dominance of white culture, thus prescribing ethnic culture as that of the “other”. The last type of diaspora that Lee mentions would be transitional identity politics which can be also known as a hybrid identity. Ultimately, this piece brings together the many things that we have learned in this class throughout the quarter, regarding the diaspora. 

Globalization plays a role in the development of the identities with the diaspora, if globalization did not exist would the factors that are displayed by diasporic communities still be the same?   

Map shows where the diasporas within the US come from

Works Cited

https://i.redd.it/3h2vcqqm9cc21.png (picture)

Regina Lee. "Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness."

Week 10 _ Angela Alejandro _ ASA114

In Regina Lee’s article, “Theorizing Diasporas: Three Types of Consciousness,” the author examines an interpretive approach in understanding the diasporic community. She focuses on three main types of psychological states of those transnational groups: idealization of the homeland, boutique multicultural manifestation, and transnational/transformational identity politics. The first type of consciousness, the idealization of the homeland, she argues that those living in these communities will always be in a marginalized state because they are separated physically from their homeland, yet being socially excluded from the host country. The second consciousness refers to the rising of multicultural cities. Here, the author argues that race and ethnicity become modes of identification. The last type of consciousness focuses on the “hyphen” that locates the diasporic subject as existing between two cultures. Lee asserts that people who live in these diasporic communities begin to exist in a separate but real community in of itself, my question is, how do the international relations between the home and host countries affect how these diasporic communities live?

Lee, Regina. (2004). Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness. Hong Kong University Press.

Image: laweekly.com

Week10_Vanesa Guillen_ASA114

According to Introduction: Asian Diasporas - New conceptions, New Frameworks by Rhacel Salazar Parrenas and Lok C. D. Siu states that the term diaspora has evolved into much different meaning throughout history. It also mentions how the different movements and placements for the Asian community cannot be considered as a "one-dimensional" or or "teleological manner" (Parrenas and C.D., p.285). It justifies that the different historical factors ad experiences cannot be homogenized and put under one category as Asian Diaspora. Further in the reading it demonstrates and compares the Jewish communities diaspora experience and how its different compared to the Asian experience. The Jewish experince was described as a negative experience that left them lost. Although now the diaspora experience is interpreted differently because it has diversified to different groups and it can apply to "immigrants, expatriates, refugees, guest workers, exile communities, overseas communities, ethnic minorities" (Parrenas and C.D., p.286). The term can also apply to those who feel like they do not belong or feel accepted by the dominant culture (Parrenas and C.D., p.286). Since there has been global migrations the reader is also trying to demonstrate that it doesn't weaken nation-states rather it strengthens diasporic groups, growth of globalization, "empowerment, enrichment, and expansion" (p.287). Global migrations also start to diversify nation-states, decrease "sovereignty" and it will give less ownership of national identities to exclude or hold the power over them (p.288). In conclusion, the reader states that the Asian Diaspora is not a single definition and that there are different ways to perceive them and must consider looking at them from "displacements, flows, and movements" (p.289).

Can the term Diaspora apply to other ethnic groups?

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgNE_LLI3Jck59Jth5VIDqYYo3evu-_7ozLXSlpdhFLtM0Kc2EmJ_DCYqQwwJv5i34NJJegZVpawZTR4ARMeIPXT4viH5jBZ4kOkL4M4yz4b5imBTh5m-OdXE89LElISbl0su9_7l_tD6PQNSsCRMeD=

Week 10 - Douglas Tran - ASA 114

In this week’s reading, Regina Lee discusses the three different types of consciousness in correlation to the diaspora. She introduces the three types as idealization of the homeland, boutique multicultural manifestation, and transitional/transformational identity politics. 

Firstly, Lee describes the idealization of the homeland as one of the strongest motivators of diasporic communities. It thought this was true and interesting because, on the first day of class, we learned that diaspora means “connection to the homeland,” it even became a running joke in our class.  Also, everything we learn always has something to do with the home country of the diasporic community. For example, we learned how people can send remittances back to their home country or how people have transnational identities across nation-state borders. Everything we learned in this class had something to do with the homeland and that is what proves that the home country is a large driving force within diasporic communities.

Secondly, Lee discusses the concept of boutique multicultural manifestation. I thought that an interesting part from this portion of the reading was Lee was discussing how Asians self-consciously reenact what the dominant community expects from them.  This idea of manipulating your ethnic visibility reminds me of assimilation to an extent. Also, this ties in with how diasporic communities create hybrid cultures and it further proves that every hybrid culture is at least a little bit different. 

Lastly, Lee explains how our multicultural identities are highly politicized.  I never really thought about it, but she mentions the power of the “hyphen” in our identities and how it is rooted in our history and in the present. 

After this reading, it helped me understand how intricate diasporic communities can be. From our transnational identities to creating hybrid cultures, we as a community really do form a whole new kind of citizen. My only question for this week is, how can you define the creation of a hybrid culture when everyone has different experiences with their multiple identities.

Works Mentioned

Regina Lee. "Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness"

https://www.mediaandminorities.org/assets/images/AsAmsImage.jpg

Week 10_Raymond Trinh_ASA 114

Raymond Trinh

ASA 114

Prof. Valverde 

In Theorizing Diasporas: Three Types of Consciousness, Regina Lee explores the culturally dislocated or ideologically “fixed” communities. Lee presents how these types of communities have a lot of diversity and how it further developed. She states, “Homeland idealism, as a form of diasporic consciousness, is a strong identification with, and idealization of, the homeland by its diaspora” (54). Homeland idealism credits the homeland as being the most powerful motivator of diasporic behavior because the homeland-idealizing diasporic community is always marginalized due to people being physically absent from the homeland. Furthermore, Lee presents Boutique Multicultural Manifestation as “a direct effect of globalization has been the increase in cultural plurality (or pluralism), giving the rise to more and more multicultural societies resulting in debates over the granting of equal recognition and equal worth to minority cultures” (61). The intention is to establish something that is meant to be universally the same, an identical basket of “rights and immunities”.

What diaspora community would a well established individual be a part of? 

Week 10_Anna Pak_ASA114

One last time: what’s diaspora? According to Ien Ang, it is any group with a “history of dispersion”, including a wide variety of categories such as immigrant, refugee, expatriate, guest worker, and more (Ang 286). It is a group that suffers not only past, but also present trauma in the form of alienation from home/host lands. Despite facing this alienation, the diaspora moves “between” nation-state borders (Ang 289), engaging with empowerment alongside victimization. Furthermore, Ang argues something that I find very intriguing, which is the very essence of diaspora is the “unsettling of (national) identities” that also unsettles the idea of Asia (Ang 288). My younger cousins who immigrated from South Korea just last year are beginning to grapple with the same diasporic issues while crammed in my family’s rural home. Already, I can see them constantly negotiating who they are and how they have to act in California. I hope they learn enough English and I learn enough Korean to better communicate what I’ve learned on diasporas. 

Question: Could the diaspora's movement between nations actually be a form of inclusion in said nation-states?

Works Cited:

Ien Ang. “Beyond 'Asian Diaspora'.” Asian Diasporas.

Image Source: Anna Pak, ripped Asia and America in half on sticky note = social construction.

Week10_Colleen Cruz_ASA114

In Regina Lee’s work “Theorizing Diasporas: Three Types of Consciousness,” she explores the models of diaspora that affect one’s identity and consciousness. Diasporic experiences are fluid and unique to each person, therefore the exploration of consciousness will never be fixed. She discusses three different frameworks of diaspora that can help contextualize this process which include homeland idealism, multiculturalism, and transitional identity politics. These concepts all relate to the perception of diaspora yet they each offer a different perspective. This just goes to show how challenging diaspora can be for diasporic groups. There is no one way that diaspora is formed, and the nuances complicate the process of movement. Lee highlights the role of globalization in this entire process. It leads me to wonder, how does globalization make the development of diasporic identity easier? How does it make identity development more complicated?

This photo represents multiculturalism which I personally feel is a prominent type of consciousness in countries like America.

Works Cited:
https://musliminstitute.org/freethinking/muslim-institute/multiculturalism-age-brexit-and-trump
Lee, Regina. (2004). Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness. Hong Kong University Press.

Week 10_Melanie Manuel_ASA 114 001

Melanie Manuel           

ASA 114 001

27 February 2020

In Regina Lee’s “Theorizing Diaspora,” diaspora is dissected into its limitations and its potentials. Some limitations include the problem of subsuming all members of a diaspora to a set of traits and customs to be a part of said diaspora and the weaponization of diaspora through commoditized multiculturalism (think: United States’s “melting pot” problematic), where ethnic boundaries are reified and customs are celebrated but dark histories are not discussed. Some potentials include the spread of culture through older members of the diaspora teaching younger generations and creation of solidarity through these teachings (though “solidarity” can sometimes become problematic when approached at the wrong angle). 

Lee also mentions the “disconjunction” nature of the hyphen when thinking of identification. Take for example, I am Filipina-American. This hyphen would be a third space of belonging, and thus would be considered a bridge between being Filipina and American. This third space, I would consider then, to be another kind of diaspora for those who participate in its use, because it acknowledges the folks that find themselves at odds with their ethnic and national identities. I remember previously writing a piece to acknowledge this hyphen, because it had been a previous fascination of mine before I moved away from identity politics and its innerworkings. 

For the image, I am including the latest iteration of that poem I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

If the image doesn't render the photo well enough to read the poem then here it is:

Melanie Manuel

1 December 2019

“what a way to live”

what a way to live--

to be caught between worlds,

to be joined together by a simple hyphen

or none at all, 

this space

so vast and profound as the stars above our heads

but unlike those stars and constellations that have a place

in all the textbooks and all else validates their existence (believe me, there’s plenty),

those caught between this world and the next

have no space

in the textbooks and all else that

even with the choice of a bridge, we are

left with a space

as vast and profound as the stars above our heads

here and there

we exist

what a way to live

where a choice is nothing

Works Cited

Lee, Regina. “Theorizing Diasporas: Threes of Consciousness.” Asian Diaspora: Cultures, Identities, Representations, 2004.