ASIA AM 20 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Golden Venture, Asian Americans, Foot Binding
8 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Questions to consider:
● How does Chinese immigration fit into Bonacich and Cheng’s model of labor migration?
● How does social class and social mobillity play a role within the Chinese American
community?
China
● Warm weather in south China=growing of crops=development of a large
population=population gets too big=looks elsewhere for work
Early Chinese women
● Foot binding indicated higher class (differentiated them from lower class and prostitute);
Elite women who weren’t considered a threat to American women’s domesticity and
femininity
Golden Venture, 1993
● Carried about 300 illegal immigrants, dropping human cargo onto American shores
● High cost, horrible conditions of ships, and potential deaths made people wonder: why
would people do this?
● And really, who (and what) is considered legal? Is there a limit to the “dumbfuckery” of
the rules imposed on legal and illegal immigrants? Especially when such limitations don’t
align with the community’s needs
● Chinatowns seen as places of pestilence and illicit activity, but stayed afloat anyway due
to richness of commerce; really a family based community!
Why are chinese products cheaper?
● Competition keeps prices low
● Receiving materials from ethnic suppliers
● Cheap labor allows them to keep prices low
● Help from family
● Large amounts of work with support from children
● But also could be violation of humans’ and workers’ rights
● Possibly sacrificing quality for quantity
Big idea is: PEOPLE SUFFER AND PEOPLE TOIL SO OUR GOODS CAN COME CHEAP
(nothing is free)
The New Chinese America
● What is significant about Zhao’s study?
● What’s her methodology?
● What is the relationship between Chinese American business owners and Chinese
American laborers?
● What is the importance of social mobilitin the Chinese American community?
Guiding questions in reading:
● What?
○ Different groups of Asians and Asian Americans in the US and their communities,
interractions, and values.
Document Summary
Warm weather in south china=growing of crops=development of a large population=population gets too big=looks elsewhere for work. Foot binding indicated higher class (differentiated them from lower class and prostitute); Elite women who weren"t considered a threat to american women"s domesticity and femininity. Carried about 300 illegal immigrants, dropping human cargo onto american shores. Especially when such limitations don"t align with the community"s needs. Chinatowns seen as places of pestilence and illicit activity, but stayed afloat anyway due to richness of commerce; really a family based community! Cheap labor allows them to keep prices low. Large amounts of work with support from children. But also could be violation of humans" and workers" rights. Big idea is: people suffer and people toil so our goods can come cheap (nothing is free) What is the relationship between chinese american business owners and chinese. Different groups of asians and asian americans in the us and their communities, interractions, and values.
