Synopses & Reviews
This provocative history of the largest annual Chinese celebration in the United Statesand#151;the Chinese New Year parade and beauty pageant in San Franciscoand#151;opens a new window onto the evolution of one Chinese American community over the second half of the twentieth century. In a vividly detailed account that incorporates many different voices and perspectives, Chiou-ling Yeh explores the origins of these public events and charts how, from their beginning in 1953, they developed as a result of Chinese business community ties with American culture, business, and politics. What emerges is a fascinating picture of how an ethnic community shaped and was shaped by transnational and national politics, economics, ethnic movements, feminism, and queer activism.
Review
and#8220;Yehand#8217;s fine study will help us comprehend such crucial issues as ethnic identity, racial negotiation, and cultural infusion in our multicultural America.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Yeh has written one of the best books on post-World War II Chinese American life in recent years.and#8221;
Synopsis
This provocative history of the largest annual Chinese celebration in the United States--the Chinese New Year parade and beauty pageant in San Francisco--opens a new window onto the evolution of one Chinese American community over the second half of the twentieth century. In a vividly detailed account that incorporates many different voices and perspectives, Chiou-ling Yeh explores the origins of these public events and charts how, from their beginning in 1953, they developed as a result of Chinese business community ties with American culture, business, and politics. What emerges is a fascinating picture of how an ethnic community shaped and was shaped by transnational and national politics, economics, ethnic movements, feminism, and queer activism.
About the Author
Chiou-ling Yeh is Assistant Professor in the Department of History at San Diego State University.
Table of Contents
list of illustrations
acknowledgments
Introduction / Making Multicultural America: Cold War Politics, Ethnic Celebrations, and Chinese America
1. Transnational Celebrations in Changing Political Climates
2. and#147;In the Traditions of China and in the Freedom of Americaand#8221;: The Making of the Chinese New Year Festival
3. Constructing a and#147;Model Minorityand#8221; Identity: The Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Beauty Pageant
4. Yellow Power: Race, Class, Gender, and Activism
5. Heated Debate on the Ethnic Beauty Pageant
6. Hybridity in Culture, Memory, and Politics
7. Selling Chineseness and Marketing Chinese New Year: Corporate Sponsorship, Television Broadcasts, and Counter Memory
8. and#147;We Are One Familyand#8221;: Queerness, Transnationalism, and Identity Politics
Epilogue / Postand#150;Cold War Celebrations
notes
bibliography
index