Blog Post 1 – Assimilation
- In Lisa Sun-Hee Park’s “Assimilation”, she discusses the different perceptions of the word “assimilation” in terms of race, more specifically Asians, in America. One type of view of the word is that non-white races have to adjust to “white” culture. Another type of view of the word is that assimilation is a solution to racial difference in which races interact with each other to understand each other and to eventually become one integrated society. One last view is that assimilation describes immigrants trying to get incorporated into American society, but the state has the power to control the incorporation.
- On page 14 on the bottom of the second paragraph, Du Bois asserted that “African Americans were already Americans; thereby raising the question of “assimilation into what?””. As mentioned previously, one view of assimilation was to assimilate into “white” culture. Du Bois believed that you’re an American regardless of race, so he raises the question as to why non-white races have to adapt to “White” culture in order to become American. He believed that you didn’t need to be white in order to be American. Furthermore, on page 16 towards the end of the last paragraph “Lisa Lowe explains that Asians in the U.S. hold an impossible position in which they are simultaneously projects of inclusion and exclusion”. Essentially, under democracy everyone is equal but differences (i.e. race, gender) are subordinated in order for those subjects to qualify for membership. This means that Asian American’s are Americans but aren’t treated like full Americans because they look different.
- Obviously, a big term that Lisa Sun-Hee Park discusses is the term of assimilation. One concept of Asian assimilation into white culture that Park brings up is that idea that Asians can assimilate into white culture easily. On page 16, at the start of the second paragraph, “Asian Americans are models of assimilation, enjoying high educational achievement, good (white) neighborhoods, and interracial marriages to whites.” On the inside, Asians can be very similar to white people, however prejudice prevents Asians from fully assimilating because Asians look different.
- One concept that Park brought up was that Asians are in a paradoxical stand in terms of assimilation because they are included yet excluded. For example, In the “Forbidden City” documentary we watched in class, the Asians in the club were just trying to express are love of performing arts. However, they were only known for their “foreignness”. People would want to go to the club because of the exotic girls and Chinese acts. The Asians were included in American society because they owned a business and provided entertainment across some parts of the country. On the other hand, they were excluded because they weren’t treated they a full American. The Asians were only known for being exotic.
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