Synopses & Reviews
What will the future look like? To judge from many speculative fiction films and books, from Blade Runner to Cloud Atlas, the future will be full of cities that resemble Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, and it will be populated mainly by cold, unfeeling citizens who act like robots. Techno-Orientalism investigates the phenomenon of imagining Asia and Asians in hypo- or hyper-technological terms in literary, cinematic, and new media representations, while critically examining the stereotype of Asians as both technologically advanced and intellectually primitive, in dire need of Western consciousness-raising.and#160;and#160;The collectionandrsquo;s fourteen original essays trace the discourse of techno-orientalism across a wide array of media, from radio serials to cyberpunk novels, from Sax Rohmerandrsquo;s Dr. Fu Manchu to Firefly. and#160;Applying a variety of theoretical, historical, and interpretive approaches, the contributors consider techno-orientalism a truly global phenomenon. In part, they tackle the key question of how these stereotypes serve to both express and assuage Western anxieties about Asiaandrsquo;s growing cultural influence and economic dominance. Yet the book also examines artists who have appropriated techno-orientalist tropes in order to critique racist and imperialist attitudes.and#160;and#160;Techno-Orientalism is the first collection to define and critically analyze a phenomenon that pervades both science fiction and real-world news coverage of Asia. With essays on subjects ranging from wartime rhetoric of race and technology to science fiction by contemporary Asian American writers to the cultural implications of Korean gamers, this volume offers innovative perspectives and broadens conventional discussions in Asian American Cultural studies.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
Review
"This volume of solid scholarship presents fresh and original research findings highlighting new phenomena in Asian American communities."Shehong Chen, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Review
andquot;Situating itself at the nexus of Asian and Asian American Studies, Techno-Orientalism covers an exciting range of topics and draws productive connections between literature, popular culture, technology, and the emergent geopolitics of what has been called the Pacific Century. This collection is a vital contribution to global media and cultural studies.andquot;
Review
andquot;and#39;Techno-orientalismand#39; is everywhere. This volume demonstrates for the first time that it is an indispensable critical category for contemporary thought. Any attempt to think globalization, neo-liberalism, and the human is incomplete without it.andquot;
Review
andldquo;Haiming Liu turns the topic of restaurants into a discussion of Chinese American history and explores complex issues concerning race relations and ethnic identity, as well as political and regional affiliations among the Chinese in the United States.andrdquo;
Review
andquot;Liu exercises his considerable talents as a transnational historian to reveal the United States as a culinary crossroads where food and business acumen circulate along many paths across continents and oceansandmdash;a must read.andquot;
Synopsis
The last half century witnessed a dramatic change in the geographic, ethnographic, and socioeconomic structure of Asian American communities. While traditional enclaves were strengthened by waves of recent immigrants, native-born Asian Americans also created new urban and suburban areas.
Asian America is the first comprehensive look at post-1960s Asian American communities in the United States and Canada. From Chinese Americans in Chicagoland to Vietnamese Americans in Orange County, this multi-disciplinary collection spans a wide comparative and panoramic scope. Contributors from an array of academic fields focus on global views of Asian American communities as well as on territorial and cultural boundaries.
Presenting groundbreaking perspectives, Asian America revises worn assumptions and examines current challenges Asian American communities face in the twenty-first century.
Synopsis
To judge from many speculative fiction films and books, the future will be full of cities that resemble Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, and it will be populated mainly by cold, unfeeling citizens who act like robots. Techno-Orientalism investigates the phenomenon of imagining Asia and Asians in hypo- or hyper-technological terms in literary, cinematic, and new media representations, while critically examining the stereotype of Asians as both technologically advanced and intellectually primitive, in dire need of Western consciousness-raising.and#160;and#160;
Synopsis
Historian Haiming Liu takes readers on a compelling journey from the California Gold Rush to the present, letting us witness both the profusion of Chinese restaurants across the United States and the evolution of many distinct American-Chinese iconic dishes from chop suey to General Tsoandrsquo;s chicken. Along the way, historian Haiming Liu explains how the immigrants adapted their traditional food to suit local palates, and gives us a taste of Chinese cuisine embedded in the bittersweet story of Chinese Americans.
Synopsis
From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express takes readers on a compelling journey from the California Gold Rush to the present, letting readers witness both the profusion of Chinese restaurants across the United States and the evolution of many distinct American-Chinese iconic dishes from chop suey to General Tsoandrsquo;s chicken. Along the way, historian Haiming Liu explains how the immigrants adapted their traditional food to suit local palates, and gives readers a taste of Chinese cuisine embedded in the bittersweet story of Chinese Americans.
and#160;
Treating food as a social history, Liu explores why Chinese food changed and how it has influenced American culinary culture, and how Chinese restaurants have become places where shared ethnic identity is affirmedandmdash;not only for Chinese immigrants but also for American Jews. The book also includes a look at national chains like P. F. Changandrsquo;s and a consideration of how Chinese food culture continues to spread around the globe.and#160;
and#160;
Drawing from hundreds of historical and contemporary newspaper reports, journal articles, and writings on food in both English and Chinese, From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express represents a groundbreaking piece of scholarly research. It can be enjoyed equally as a fascinating set of stories about Chinese migration, cultural negotiation, race and ethnicity, diverse flavored Chinese cuisine and its share in American food market today.
About the Author
DAVID S. ROH is an assistant professor of American literature and digital humanities at Old Dominion University. He is the author ofand#160;Illegal Literature: Toward a Disruptive Creativity.and#160;BETSY HUANG is an associate professor of English and chief officer of Diversity and Inclusion at Clark University. She is the author of Contesting Genres in Contemporary Asian American Fiction.and#160;and#160;GRETA A. NIU earned her Ph.D. in English from Duke University and has taught at SUNY Brockport, University of Rochester, and St. John Fisher College.and#160;and#160;
Table of Contents
acknowledgements
introduction: reconceptualizing asian american communities
part one global views of asian american communities
- 1 intragroup diversity: asiam american population dynamics and challenges of the twenty-first century
- 2 ethnic solidarity, rebounding networks, and transnational culture: the post-1965 chinese american family
part two asian communities in america: with georgraphical boundaries
- 3 beyond a common ethnicity and culture: chicagoland's chinese american communities in 1945
- 4 transforming an ethnic community: little saigon, organe county
- 5 building a community center: filipinas/os in san francisco's excelsior nrighborhood
part three asian communities in america: with cultural/social boundaries
- 6 cultural community: a new model for asian american community
- 7 chinese week: building chinese american community through festivity in metropolitan phoenix
- 8 virtual community and the cultural imaginary of chinese americans
- 9 ethnic solidarity in a divided community: a study on bridging organizations in koreatown
part four asian commmunities in canada
- 10 the social construction of chinese in canada
- 11 recent mainland chinese immigrants in canada: trends and obstacles
selected bibliography
notes on contributors
index