Full Description
The term "Heartland" in American cultural context conventionally tends to provoke imageries of corn-fields, flat landscape, hog farms, and rural communities, along with ideas of conservatism, homogeneity, and isolation. But as the Midwestern and Southern states experienced more rapid population growth than that in California, Hawaii, and New York in the recent decades, the Heartland region has emerged as a growing interest of Asian American studies. Focused on the Heartland cities of Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri, this book draws rich evidences from various government records, personal stories and interviews, and media reports, and sheds light on the commonalities and uniqueness of the region, as compared to the Asian American communities on the East and West Coast and Hawaii. Some of the poignant stories such as "the Three Moy Brothers," "Alla Lee," and "Save Sam Wah Laundry" told in the book are powerful reflections of Asian American history.
Contents
Illustrations
A Note on Translation and Terminology
1. Introduction: Defining the Asian American Heartland and Its Significance
Part I. Transnational Migration and Work
2. Transnational Migration and Businesses in Chinese Chicago, 1870s-1930s
3. Building "Hop Alley": Myth and Reality of Chinatown in St. Louis, 1860s-1930s
4. Intellectual Tradition of Heartland: Chicago School and Beyond
Part II. Marriage, Family, and Community Organizations
5. Family and Marriage in Heartland, 1880s-1940s
6. Living Heartland: 1860s-1950s
7. Governing Heartland: On Leong Chinese Merchants and Laborers Association, 1906-1966
Part III. New Community Structures
8. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act and the Formation of Cultural Community in St. Louis
9. The Tripartite Community in Chicago
10. Conclusion: Convergences and Divergences
References
