The race and gender of Chinese immigrants

part1
Readings by Jean Pfaelzer, Mary Ting Yi Liu, Jan Lin, Miriam Ching Yoon Louie, there are several important themes.

1. The historical periods that are covered in these readings: moving from 19th century to the 1990s, and what these periods inform us about the race and gender of Chinese immigrants;
2. Race and gender are created by social relations in some very complicated but specific ways;
3. Race and gender are specific a given area or region, for example, New York City and the "Gold Mountain";
4. These categories of identity are results of instrumental violence by the state;
5. The readings illustrated a debate on how one may understand race and gender.

The questions for this week's discussion will be divided into several subsections; when you answer these questions please indicate the questions that you are answering.

Question 1: If "Chinese immigrants" is understood a race, what does a race of Chinese immigrants mean - according to Pfaelzer and Liu? One can understand the formation of the Chinese immigrant race as a result of the state's action in dividing the working class. What are the evidence of this claim?

Question 2: Can we understand the "Chinese immigrant race" also as a result of gender encounter? What does it have to do with "white women" at the turn of the century?

Question 3: Can we compare the differences between the formation of a "Chinese immigrant race" during 19th century and the formation of a "Chinese immigrant race" since the 1980s? Is this comparison possible at all? If no, why? If yes, how? What this question is alluding is the differences between the first two authors and the last two; please keep in mind that Jan Lin and MCY Louie are speaking of race and gender through an urban setting.

links of the videos
Lai Yee Chan’s 24 Hour Shift [Mandatory]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7VNBa4xak0

Patient Unite with Home Attendants [Mandatory]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGHt04kj_Zg

part2
Alvin So discusses the connections between China's incorporation in the capitalist world economy and the beginning of the coolie trade during the 19th century. Evelyn Hu-DeHart discusses the experiences of Chinese coolies in 19th century Cuba, whereas Morrison Wong discusses the experiences of Chinese immigrant in the U.S. from the late-19th century to our time. Finally, Peter Kwong connects the immigration policies (particularly IRCA of 1986) of the mid-1980s to the rise of what he calls "modern day slavery."

There are several assumptions and arguments regarding Chinese experiences in various colonial empires in the U.S. and in Latin America from the above readings:

(1) Chinese did not only appear in the West Coast of the United States but elsewhere in the Americas (via the Spanish empire);

(2) Chinese did not leave China due to an individual will, rather, due to long-distance migration (to USA or Cuba) that is systematically induced (via China's incorporation into the capitalist world-economy during the19th century);

(3) Immigration policies in the United States were linked with the experiences of Chinese immigrants;

(4) The "experiences" of Chinese in the Americas did not and do not refer to the myth of "model minority"; likewise, the option of work-your-way-up was and is a myth; what we do see is a collective experience of capitalist exploitation.

Discussion Questions:

What do you think about these challenges? And, what do you think about the last claim - Chinese in the Americas have been experiencing a collective exploitation? What are your first impressions of the film Finding Samuel Lowe? What do you think about the connections between the film Finding Samuel Lowe, on the one hand, and the readings, on the other hand? What were the historical conditions for Samuel Lowe to exist? Why is it important to talk about "finding Samuel Lowe" today? And, for whom is this conversation important? Is it a matter of racial diversity? Is it a matter of global inequality?

Sample Solution