Asian American studies

This semester I’ve been taking a module called “Introduction to Asian American Studies”. I choose this module because I thought it would be helpful to my dissertation and I was not wrong. Not only this, but I feel that it has also taught me more about my heritage and experiences other Asians have undergone. Although I am not personally an Asian American, the themes and issues that we have studied are all too familiar even within the UK. The stereotypes and generalizations that many have of Asians I have seen and been measured against. Even though I cannot expect people not to judge me for my skin colour, eye shape or even height I know they will. However, after learning about other people’s experience I think I can be more proud and confident in who I am. I have to say before coming to Purdue, I was not as interested in learning more about my Asian heritage nor have I felt so Asian in my life. But I feel that because of the people that I met here and courses like ASAM 240 I appreciate and value my Chinese heritage far more than I did in the UK.  For me “Asian America” does not have a specific definition. For me it highlights the umbrella of ethnicities, cultures, languages, experiences and stories that they have. Their stories of immigration, assimilation and more will have similarities to one another but each different and unique in their own right.