From the beginning of the Twentieth Century, there have been quite a number of watershed
events in American as well as World History. The term “watershed” refers to a turning point
in history. Examples are the Great Depression in the 1930s, World War Two in the 1940s,
the Cold War beginning in the 1950s, the Civil Rights Movements in the US (and Third World
Liberation Movements, their international counterparts) beginning in the 1960s, the downfall
of communism and the rise of terrorism in the 1980s, and 9/11 in 2001. Those watersheds
have had political, social and economic consequences on different groups and in different
spheres, ranging from local to global dimensions.
Japanese Americans and their position in American society were effected by all those
watershed events. Western Colonialism in Asia envisioned the Japanese as the primitive
“Other” of the modern United States1. After having opened Japan by force in 1853, the US
welcomed Japanese immigrants for a short time as a cheap source of labor. Long before the
Great Depression hit the United States, however, anti-Japanese American sentiment, which
was due to racial hatred and supposed economic competition, grew bigger and bigger,
culminating in the Oriental Exclusion Act of 1924. During the Second World War, Japanese
Americans residing primarily on the West Coast were put into internment camps. Dubbed a
“military necessity,” this internment of approximately 110.000 persons of Japanese ancestry,
a majority of whom were American citizens, was, in reality, solely triggered by racial hatred.
In the 1950s, during the Cold War, Japan, as Asia’s only democracy, switched roles with
Communist China and became an ally of the United States. This had immediate
consequences on the attitude towards Japanese Americans in the US. The Civil Rights Movement and the Third World Liberation Movements were closely linked to the Cold War in
that of all the anti-communist countries, the United States was the only one which had not
been economically ruined by the preceding war. Thus, the United States was expected to be
the guardian of democracy and had to live up to its proclaimed ideals of equality and
freedom. The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement gave Asian Americans in general,
and Japanese Americans in particular, unprecedented opportunities, such as electoral
empowerment, the repeal of exclusion laws, and to a certain extent social mobility. [...]
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- I INTRODUCTION
- II MAIN PART
- A Racial Formation Theory (Omi & Winant)
- B Hawai'i
- 1. Japanese Americans in Hawai'i 1950s - 1990s
- 2. Hawai'i 1950s - 1990s
- a. The Fifties
- b. The Sixties
- c. The Seventies
- d. The Eighties
- e. The Nineties
- 3. Politically Active Groups in Hawai'i
- a. Democrats
- b. Republicans
- c. The Labor Movement / The Communist Party
- d. Native Hawaiians
- 4. Racial Formation and Japanese American Positionality in Hawai'i
- C Mainland United States
- 1. Japanese Americans on the Mainland
- 2. Development of the Japanese American Community 1950s – 1990s
- 3. Key Groups on the Mainland
- a. Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)
- b. The Asian American Movement
- 4. Japanese Americans Ambiguous Social and Economic Position
- 5. Major Themes
- a. The "Model Minority" Myth
- b. Redress and Conam Nobis Cases
- 6. Racial Formation and Japanese American Positionality on the Mainland
- III CONCLUSION
- IV CLOSING REMARKS
- V WORKS CITED
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper offers a comparative analysis of Japanese Americans in Hawai'i and on the mainland, focusing on their political positionality. The study examines key historical developments, political activism, and social and economic positions within both regions, ultimately aiming to highlight the distinct integration paths of Japanese Americans in Hawai'i and on the mainland. Here are the key themes explored:- Impact of historical watershed events on Japanese American communities.
- Application of Racial Formation Theory to analyze Japanese American experiences.
- Comparison of the political positionality of Japanese Americans in Hawai'i and on the mainland.
- Examination of major themes such as the "Model Minority" myth and the redress movement.
- Analysis of the influence of political groups and organizations on Japanese American communities.
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: This chapter sets the stage for the analysis by outlining the historical context of Japanese Americans in the US, emphasizing the impact of major events such as the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. It also introduces the concept of racial formation and its relevance to understanding Japanese American experiences.
- Racial Formation Theory (Omi & Winant): This section provides an overview of Omi and Winant's Racial Formation Theory, emphasizing the fluidity and dynamism of racial categories in the US. It critiques existing perspectives on race and highlights the theory's core tenets, including race as a social construct and its influence on various aspects of American life.
- Hawai'i: This section delves into the history of Japanese Americans in Hawai'i, focusing on their arrival, integration, and political activism from the 1950s to the 1990s. It examines key historical developments, including the rise of political groups and the impact of racial formation on their positionality in Hawai'i.
- Mainland United States: This section focuses on the experiences of Japanese Americans on the mainland, particularly in California. It examines their postwar development, key political groups, and ambiguous social and economic position, including the "Model Minority" myth and the redress movement.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This analysis focuses on the intersection of race, ethnicity, and politics within the context of Japanese American experiences in Hawai'i and on the mainland. Key concepts include racial formation, political positionality, historical watershed events, the "Model Minority" myth, the redress movement, and the influence of key political groups and organizations on Japanese American communities.- Citation du texte
- B.A. Stephanie Wössner (Auteur), 2002, Japanese American Positionality in Hawaii and on the mainland, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/138129
