The Sum Of Parts (Asian American History & Cultu) - Hardcover

Williams-Leon, Teresa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1566398460 ISBN 13: 9781566398466

Publisher: Temple University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Largely as a result of multiracial activism, the US Census for 2000 offers people the unprecedented opportunity to officially identify themselves with more than one racial group. Among Asian-heritage people in this country and elsewhere, racial and ethnic mixing has a long but unacknowledged history. According to the last US Census, nearly one-third of all interracial marriages included an Asian-descent spouse, and intermarriage rates are accelerating. This unique collection of essays focuses on the construction of identity among people of Asian descent who claim multiple heritages.

In the U.S., discussions of race generally center on matters of black and white; mixed heritage Asian Americans usually figure in conversations about race as an undifferentiated ethnic group or as exotic Eurasians. The contributors to this book disrupt the standard discussions by considering people of mixed Asian ethnicities. They also pay particular attention to non-white multiracial identities to decenter whiteness and reflect the experience of individuals or communities who are considered a minority within a minority. With an entire section devoted to the Asian diaspora, The Sum of Our Parts suggests that questions of multiracial and multiethnic identity are surfacing around the globe. This timely and provocative collection articulates them for social scientists and students.

About this title

From the Publisher:

A groundbreaking look at mixed-heritage Asian Americans.

From the Inside Flap:

"The Sum of Our Parts is the first collection of essays on multiracial and multiethnic Asian Americans by experts in the field. The book is timely and will make an important contribution to the discourse on race, ethnicity, and identity formation. Comprehensive, historical, diasporic, and theoretically grounded, it includes groups not covered anywhere else, and will appeal to both academic and popular audiences."
—Judy Yung, University of California, Santa Cruz

"This book begins to remedy a crucial absence in contemporary liberatory discussion—Asian identities, and multiracial Asian identities. It should be an important and welcome contribution, academically and beyond."
—Naomi Zack, Professor of Philosophy, University at Albany, SUNY

About this edition

• Publisher: Temple University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1566398460
• ISBN 13: 9781566398466
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 279