Overview

In Fighting Invisibility, Monica Mong Trieu argues that we must consider the role of physical and symbolic space to fully understand the nuances of Asian American racialization. By doing this, we face questions such as, historically, who has represented Asian America? Who gets to represent Asian America? This book shifts the primary focus to Midwest Asian America to disrupt-and expand beyond-the existing privileged narratives in United States and Asian American history. Drawing from in-depth interviews, census data, and cultural productions from Asian Americans in Ohio, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan, this interdisciplinary research examines how post-1950s Midwest Asian Americans navigate identity and belonging, racism, educational settings, resources within co-ethnic communities, and pan-ethnic cultural community. Their experiences and life narratives are heavily framed by three pervasive themes of spatially defined isolation, invisibility, and racialized visibility. Fighting Invisibility makes an important contribution to racialization literature, while also highlighting the necessity to further expand the scope of Asian American history-telling and knowledge production.

Full Product Details

Author:   Monica Mong Trieu
Publisher:   Rutgers University Press
Imprint:   Rutgers University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.045kg
ISBN:  

9781978834286

ISBN 10:   1978834284
Pages:   184
Publication Date:   17 March 2023
Recommended Age:   From 18 to 99 years
Audience:   College/higher education ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix Introduction: Asian America in America’s Heartland 1 Who Is Midwestern Asian America? A Demographic Overview and Personal Histories of Post-1950s Midwestern Asian Americans 19 “I Only Knew It in Relation to Its Absence”: Isolated and Everyday Ethnics on Spatial Contexts, Community, and Identity 46 “Why Couldn’t I Be White?”: On the Legacy of Colonialism, Racism, and Internalized Racism in the Midwest 64 Crafting “Sharp Weapons” in the Heartland: The Making of Cultural Productions as Racialized Subjects 89 Conclusion 105 Epilogue: A Final Note on Moving Forward for Asian America 109 Appendix: Selected Characteristics of Study Participants 117 Acknowledgments 121 Notes 125 Bibliography 149 Index 000

Reviews

"""The stories of Asian Americans in the Midwest remain poorly recognized and understood – until now. Fighting Invisibility frames these Asian Americans’ experiences within the context of U.S. racial history and culture, revealing the power of geography in the process. The result is a thought-provoking, highly readable book that should be read from coast to coast.""— Pawan Dhingra, author of Hyper Education: Why Good Schools, Good Grades, and Good Behavior Are Not Enough ""In this remarkably perceptive book, Trieu’s multilayered narratives of racialization in the Midwest brilliantly contextualize how belonging, representation, and resistance are negotiated.""— Linda Trinh Vo, author of Mobilizing an Asian American Community"

""In this remarkably perceptive book, Trieu’s multilayered narratives of racialization in the Midwest brilliantly contextualize how belonging, representation, and resistance are negotiated."" -- Linda Trinh Vo * author of Mobilizing an Asian American Community * ""In this remarkably perceptive book, Trieu’s multilayered narratives of racialization in the Midwest brilliantly contextualize how belonging, representation, and resistance are negotiated."" -- Linda Trinh Vo * author of Mobilizing an Asian American Community * ""The stories of Asian Americans in the Midwest remain poorly recognized and understood – until now. Fighting Invisibility frames these Asian Americans’ experiences within the context of U.S. racial history and culture, revealing the power of geography in the process. The result is a thought-provoking, highly readable book that should be read from coast to coast."" -- Pawan Dhingra * author of Hyper Education: Why Good Schools, Good Grades, and Good Behavior Are Not Enough * ""The stories of Asian Americans in the Midwest remain poorly recognized and understood – until now. Fighting Invisibility frames these Asian Americans’ experiences within the context of U.S. racial history and culture, revealing the power of geography in the process. The result is a thought-provoking, highly readable book that should be read from coast to coast."" -- Pawan Dhingra * author of Hyper Education: Why Good Schools, Good Grades, and Good Behavior Are Not Enough *

""The stories of Asian Americans in the Midwest remain poorly recognized and understood – until now. Fighting Invisibility frames these Asian Americans’ experiences within the context of U.S. racial history and culture, revealing the power of geography in the process. The result is a thought-provoking, highly readable book that should be read from coast to coast.""— Pawan Dhingra, author of Hyper Education: Why Good Schools, Good Grades, and Good Behavior Are Not Enough ""In this remarkably perceptive book, Trieu’s multilayered narratives of racialization in the Midwest brilliantly contextualize how belonging, representation, and resistance are negotiated.""— Linda Trinh Vo, author of Mobilizing an Asian American Community

Author Information

MONICA MONG TRIEU is an associate professor of American studies and Asian American studies at Purdue University, Indiana. She is the author of Identity Construction among Chinese-Vietnamese Americans: Being, Becoming, and Belonging.

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