Research Guides: Asian Pacific Islander Heritage: Guide

Watermark : Vietnamese American poetry & prose

Asian Americans in the Twenty-First Century

Vera Wang Queen of Fashion; Amazing Chinese American

Astronaut Kalpana Chawla, Reaching for the Stars

Contemporary Asian America (third Edition)

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir

The Refugees Short stories by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Manzanar

Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family

The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts

Quiet Odyssey: A Pioneer Korean Woman in America

America Is in the Heart: A Personal History

Eating Identities: Reading Food in Asian American Literature

From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express: A History of Chinese Food in the United States

The Long Afterlife of Nikkei Wartime Incarceration

Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War

Asianfail: Narratives of Disenchantment and the Model Minority

In Defense of Justice: Joseph Kurihara and the Japanese American Struggle for Equality

Words Matter: Conversations with Asian American Writers

Inscrutable Belongings: Queer Asian North American Fiction

Invisible Asians: Korean American Adoptees, Asian American Experiences, and Racial Exceptionalism

Undercover Asian: Multiracial Asian Americans in Visual Culture

Talk Thai: The Adventures of Buddhist Boy

Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, 3 Volumes

In Defence of Country: Life Stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Servicemen and Women

The Unsung Great Stories of Extraordinary Japanese Americans

From Films On Demand database:

Asian Americans This series traces the story of Asian Americans, spanning 150 years of immigration, racial politics, and cultural innovation. It is a timely look at the role that Asian Americans have played in defining who we are as a nation.
Silent Sacrifice: Stories of Japanese-American Incarceration This program is a riveting, emotional documentary about Japanese Americans who were forced into encampments in the United States during World War II. Utilizing in-depth interviews with former internees and their families, a rich collection of rare historic photos and film clips, and beautifully crafted re-creation scenes, SILENT SACRIFICE reveals the pain, shame, regret and healing that nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans endured for their country.
The Chinese Exclusion Act On May 6th, 1882—on the eve of the greatest wave of immigration in American history—President Chester A. Arthur signed into law a unique piece of federal legislation. Called the Chinese Exclusion Act, it singled out as never before a specific race and nationality for exclusion, making it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America, and for Chinese nationals already here ever to become citizens of the United States. It is a deeply American story about immigration and national identity, civil rights and human justice; about how we define who can be an American, and what being an American means. The film examines the economic, cultural, social, legal, racial and political dimensions of the law; the forces and events that gave rise to it; and the effect it had, and continues to have, on American culture and identity. The Chinese Exclusion Act explores in riveting detail this little known, yet deeply resonant and revealing episode in American history—one that sheds enormous light on key aspects of the history of American civil liberties, immigration, and culture—during one of the most formative periods of U.S. history.
Becoming American: The Chinese Experience What does it mean to become American? What is lost and what is gained in the process? In interviews with historians, descendants, and recent immigrants, this powerful eight-part Bill Moyers series explores these questions through dramatic encounters of the Chinese in America. Includes Gold Mountain Dreams, Between Two Worlds, and No Turning Back—plus “personal journey” extended interviews with author Gish Jen, Nobel prize-winning physicist Samuel Ting, AIDS researcher David Ho, business executive Shirley Young, and artist and architect Maya Lin, through which the larger themes of the Chinese experience are made movingly personal. 6 hours total.
The Slanted Screen: Asian Men in Film and Television This award-winning documentary explores portrayals of Asian men in American cinema, chronicling the experience of actors who have struggled against Hollywood’s ethnic stereotyping and discriminatory practices. The Slanted Screen covers the practice of using Caucasian actors in yellowface makeup, drawing upon a wealth of materials, including 50 rare film clips spanning a century. The program, which was broadcast nationally on PBS, features voice-over narration by Daniel Dae Kim as well as interviews with actors Mako, James Shigeta, Jason Scott Lee, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Will Yun Lee, and Tzi Ma; producer Terence Chang; director Justin Lin; and casting director Heidi Levitt. (55 minutes)
Asian American, a Political Term English professor Shawn Wong of the University of Washington discusses the stereotypes of Asians in America and how he addresses them in his novel "American Knees." His class discusses issues of identity and prejudice.
Race and Intelligence: Science's Last Taboo A smattering of self-styled experts believe they can assign IQ levels to the world’s racial groups. Even if their data were beyond reproach, what does that say about IQ testing? Is it objective or socioeconomically biased? British journalist Rageh Omaar searches for answers in this thoughtful, globe-spanning program. Recounting the turmoil Dr. James Watson stirred up with his 2007 remarks on race, genetics, and intelligence, Omaar describes a recent meeting with the famous scientist and notes the significance of his refusal to appear in the film. For on-camera assertions of a race-IQ link, the program turns to Dr. Richard Lynn, author of The Global Bell Curve, who calmly informs Somali-born Omaar that Africans are inherently less intelligent than Europeans and Asians. Controversial psychologist J. Phillipe Rushton, who has made claims similar to Lynn’s, and researcher James Flynn, whose focus is on environmental factors rather than race, are among the many other figures Omaar interviews in this daring journey through an intellectual minefield. (64 minutes)
Understanding Differences between Eastern and Western Nursing Nurses from Asia make up a growing percentage of nursing professionals in the United States. In this program, certified transcultural nurse Philip Yu Xu, Ph.D., RN, addresses major differences between Eastern and Western nursing so that RNs from China, Korea, India, the Philippines, and elsewhere can better acclimate themselves to the practice of medicine in American acute care settings. Section one reviews differences between the East and the West at the philosophical and cultural levels. Section two elaborates on differences in interpersonal relationships and communication. Section three focuses on differences at the health care system level. Section four illustrates differences at the professional practice level. And section five summarizes major challenges faced by Eastern nurses working in the West. Essential viewing for Asian nurses and those who work with them. Designated for 4 contact hours of continuing nursing education. (51 minutes)

From Swank Digital Campus database:

After accessing the Swank Digital Campus database, go to the search box on top and enter the titles below. Enjoy the films!

The Sun Is Also A Star College-bound romantic Daniel Bae and Jamaica-born pragmatist Natasha Kingsley meet—and fall for each other—over one magical day amidst the fervor and flurry of New York City. Sparks immediately fly between these two strangers, who might never have met had fate not given them a little push. But will fate be enough to take these teens from star-crossed to lucky in love? With just hours left on the clock in what looks to be her last day in the U.S., Natasha is fighting against her family’s deportation as fiercely as she’s fighting her budding feelings for Daniel, who is working just as hard to convince her they are destined to be together. A modern-day story about finding love against all odds, “The Sun Is Also a Star” explores whether our lives are determined by fate or the random events of the universe.
The Joy Luck Club Adaptation of Amy Tan's bestseller about four immigrant Chinese women and their American-born daughters. The story begins in San Francisco, where three of the women have gathered to bid farewell to their deceased friend's daughter, who's departing for China to meet her long-lost half sisters.

AAPI Civil Rights Heroes Collection of films about AAPI Civil Rights activists.
Untold Stories | Manzanar: "Never Again" Take a look at the interconnected stories of Japanese internment during World War II, Sue Kunitomi Embrey's efforts to commemorate Manzanar internment camp, and the ongoing work of Manzanar National Historic Site to educate visitors about civil rights.
Resistance at Tule Lake | documentary trailer RESISTANCE AT TULE LAKE tells the long-suppressed story of 12,000 Japanese Americans who dared to resist the U.S. government's program of mass incarceration during World War II. Branded as "disloyals" and re-imprisoned at Tule Lake Segregation Center, they continued to protest in the face of militarized violence, and thousands renounced their U.S. citizenship. Giving voice to experiences that have been marginalized for over 70 years, this documentary challenges the nationalist, one-sided ideal of wartime "loyalty."
Asian Americans In this episode we follow the migration of Asian Americans to the San Diego region, and the impact they had in forming the city. Join us for detailed accounts on how San Diego's Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Filipino immigrants moved to the region.
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) is a national membership organization dedicated to expanding and mobilizing philanthropic and community resources for underserved AAPI communities to build a more just and equitable society.
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center From our establishment in 1997 as an initiative critical to the mission of the Smithsonian until today, the vision for the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center has been to enrich the American Story with the voices of Asian Pacific Americans.
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Asian and Pacific Islander peoples in all walks of life have played a profoundly important role in American history, contributing to and shaping the rich heritage of the United States in many ways. Explore their stories and their legacy by visiting the units of the National Park System and other places listed in the National Register of Historic Places, most of which are National Historic Landmarks, throughout the nation featured in this itinerary. The National Park Service preserves historic places and stories of America's diverse cultural heritage and expands and maintains the National Register of Historic Places.