According to statistics provided by the Pew Research Center (2021), "Asians are the fastest growing racial or ethnic group in the US. To put this growth in perspective consider the following: "the Asian population in the US doubled from 2000 to 2019...Asians now make up about 7% of the nation’s overall population, and their numbers are projected to surpass 46 million by 2060, nearly four times their current total." The materials found on this webpage can help you explore the varied and numerous contributions of Asian Americans to the historical mosaic of America, the challenges and successes of Asian Americans over the course of American history, and the influences and impact of Asian Americans have had on American culture.
Asian American Literature (4 vols.) Cambridge University Press, 2021.
Volume 1: Asian American Literature in Transition, 1850–1930
Edited by: Josephine Lee (Minnesota) & Julia H. Lee, (UC, Irvine)
Volume 2: Asian American Literature in Transition, 1930–1965
Edited by: Victor Bascara (UCLA) & Josephine Nock-Hee Park (Pennsylvania)
Volume 3: Asian American Literature in Transition, 1965–1996
Edited by: Asha Nadkarni (Mass, Amherst) & Cathy J. Schlund-Vials (Texas)
Volume 4: Asian American Literature in Transition, 1996–2020
Edited by: Betsy Huang (Clark University.) & Victor Román Mendoza (Michigan)
Asian American Literature: Edinburgh Critical Guides. Edited by Bella Adams, Martin Halliwell, and Andy Mousley (2008). eBook.
Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian American Writers. 3rd ed. Edited by Frank Chin, et al. (Univ. of Washington Press, 2019). eBook.
The West: A Translation by Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal
In 2019, Asian American poet Paisley Rekdal was commissioned to write a poem commemorating the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad’s completion. The result is “West: A Translation:” a linked collection of poems that respond to a Chinese elegy carved into the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station where Chinese migrants to the United States were detained. “West” translates this elegy character by character through the lens of Chinese and other transcontinental railroad workers’ histories, and through the railroad’s cultural impact on America.
Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS)
The Association for Asian American Studies was founded in 1979 for the purpose of advancing the highest professional standard of excellence in teaching and research in the field of Asian American Studies and to promote better understanding and closer ties between and among various sub-components within Asian American Studies: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Hawaiian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Pacific Islander, and other groups. AAAS is also founded for the purpose of educating American society about the history and aspirations of Asian American ethnic minorities.
Click the link below to access the association's academic journal:
Inheriting is a 2024 podcast about Asian American and Pacific Islander families, which explores how one event in history can ripple through generations. In doing so, the show seeks to break apart the AAPI monolith and tell a fuller story of these communities. In each episode, NPR's Emily Kwong sits down with one family and facilitates deeply emotional conversations between their loved ones. Through these stories, we see how to live with the legacies we're constantly inheriting. More at LAist.
Asian Americans a multi-part documentary produced by PBS (2020).
Click links below to view each episode on Alexander Street streaming services.
Episode 2: A Question of Loyalty
Slaying the Dragon (1988) Documentary on the racial and gender stereotyping of Asian Women in Film. Streaming.
Amerasia (digital access 1997–present); (physical copies 1973–2019)
Topaz Museum Website (Delta, Utah)
Collected Literary Magazines of Americans of Japanese Descent
This twenty-three volume set of book reproduces copies of literary magazines created by Japanese incarcerated in relocation centers in various parts of the United States: New York, California, Arizona (Poston & Gila River), and Wyoming (Heart Mountain). it is shelved in the Japanese Section of the Asian Collection on Level 4 of the Harold B. Lee Library. Call Number: PL 889 .U52 N9
National Archives: Japanese American Incarceration During WWII
Includes access to several relevant primary source documents documents and other resources.
Densho 伝承: This English language website documents the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II. It preserves firsthand accounts, historical images, and teacher resources.