Southeast Asian Archive Newsletter

Vol. 2. No. 1, Fall 1992
Editor: Anne Frank

New Additions to the Collection

Kim Ha: The Vietnamese language manuscript of her latest book, Qua Con Bao Du (Going Through a Terrible Storm), and 13 cassette tapes of interviews she conducted with refugees for this work. She recently finished the English translation, which presently is being edited for publication.

Nguyen Hung Cuong: Publications from the Vietnamese community in the Washington D.C. area: Hoi Nguoi Viet Cao Nien...Dac San Xuan Nham Than 1992, Tieng Chuong, Doi Nay, Thoi Moi - Phu Nu Moi, Tu Do, The Bridge.

Vang Pobzeb: White Paper on Forced Repatriation of Hmong Refugees from Thailand to Laos, and White Paper on Laos: Why Laotians Request American Help, both publications of the Lao Human Rights Council.

John Chang: Videos: No More Mountains, Journey From Pha Dong, Southeast Asians, KOCE Public Affairs Special; flyers from the Hmong War Quilts exhibition at the Fullerton Museum.

Van Nghe Publishers: Dac Khao ve Hoang Sa va Truong Sa, Truyen Mien Nam, by Vo Phien, and Khong Tu, by Nguyen Hien-Le.

Nguyen Long: Chu Nghia Tu Huu Hien Phap Che Do Tu Huu (Doctrine of Privatism, Constitution, Privatist Regime).

[This article is reprinted from the October 12, 1992 issue of the New University, UCI's student newspaper.]

Gaping Hole in Curriculum - Still No Asian American Studies

For years now, there have been many attempts to establish Asian American and Southeast Asian Studies programs at UCI, yet the Administration has mostly neglected the Asian American students on campus.

UCI boasts the largest percentage of Asian American undergrads of all nine UCs, and this number has continued to increase over the past few years. However, few courses dealing with Asian Americans have been offered. When classes are offered, there is an extremely high demand, with waiting lists as high as 200-300 students.

There tends to be the common mistake of grouping both Asian Studies and Asian American studies together, but there are many distinctions. Whereas Asian Studies (like UCI's East Asian Studies program) focuses on the history and culture of Asia, Asian American studies focuses on the experiences of Asians in America.

Asians in America have vastly different experiences than those in Asia. Asians who live in America are torn between their heritage and caving into the Anglo culture, and also between sacrificing for the "American Dream." yet held back by the dominant power structure.

Asian Americans students are not the only ones who long for their own studies program. Many faculty, staff, and non-Asians also echo that sentiment.

Despite the need and desire for the program, UCI is the only campus of the nine UCs that does not offer an Asian American Studies program.

What is being done to meet our needs? Very little. Although the Administration has formed a research committee for the establishment of an Asian American Studies program, it has not approved a substantial amount of funding. The small amount of funds is quickly exhausted in administrative costs such as stipends for the recruiters and researchers, as well as on the actual recruiting process.

The bottom line on funding is that administration has not granted enough for the committee to gain any concrete plans for forming an Asian American Studies program.

Another problem is that there is no set deadline for the establishment of the program. This means that the Administration can procrastinate and delay efforts. New students won't be exposed to an Asian American Studies program, the ones considering UCI may discount it because of the lack of attention to Asians, and the ones already here will graduate without their needs being met.

There are only two full time Asian Americanists, (professors specializing in the field) at UCI. Administration will refute this fact by stating that there are other professors researching Asian American issues. Yet, they are not Asian Americanists, since they have never extensively studied or researched Asian American issues before, and they have not researched in this field.

Despite the fact that UCI does have an East Asian Studies program, it is greatly lacking in the presentation of a Southeast Asian curriculum. It is necessary to understand one's own Asian culture and history in order to comprehend Asian American issues.

Southeast Asians represent a large number at UCI, with the majority of them being Vietnamese. In fact, Orange County has the largest number of Vietnamese in California (roughly 120,000) with approximately 1500 at UCI alone.

Despite this fact, there is no established program within East Asian Studies concerning Southeast Asian history, culture, and languages. The large number of Vietnamese students suffer most because their needs are not met, and their numbers are not properly represented. For several years now, there has been a push to have a Vietnamese Studies program introduced in different departments, but no concrete results have been reached.

The Vietnam War had an enormous impact on American culture and history, yet there are no steady classes being offered concerning that event. It is time that UCI offered courses dealing with this pivotal point in America's history. Specific courses like these will direct and allow students to view the Southeast Asian Archive, a resource few know about.

UCI definitely has not done enough with their curriculum to meet the needs of Asians. There are many other colleges and universities which offer Asian American and Southeast Asian Studies programs, yet UCI has neither.

The increasingly diverse multicultural and foreign language requirements and courses at UCI will not be complete without diversifying education with Asian representation.

New Student Assistant: Ninh Mai

[My Huong N. Tran, the Archive's student assistant since Spring 1989, has returned to Stockton where currently she is operating a travel agency for her uncle. She will graduate this June from UCI (after taking 2 classes at UC Davis) and plans to enter an administrative nursing program.]

Student Paper Competition

Guidelines: Submit 3 copies (typed, double- spaces, no longer than 15 pages) with a cover sheet bearing the writer's name, address, phone number, name of college or university, and status to Dr. Kenyon S. Chan, Asian American Studies Department--HUMN, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA 91330. DEADLINE IS JANUARY 1, 1993.

Census '90

The Asian population alone totals 6,908,638. California, New York, and Hawaii have the largest number of Asian people, with California showing the largest increase in population, followed by New York and Texas. The highest growth rates, however, were in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Georgia.

Do you know?

1. What percentage of the 6.9 million Asians in the United States are Vietnamese?
2. In what state is the largest Asian group Cambodian?
3. In what two states are the largest Asian groups Hmong?
4. In what five states is the largest Asian group Vietnamese?

Here are the answers.
For more 1990 census information visit the UCI Library Government Publications Department.

Bridges

Professor Pham Cao Duong will be offering "The Vietnamese American Experience" (Comparative Culture 169E) during Winter quarter 1993.

Selected Recent Acquisitions to the Southeast Asian Archive

Bui, Diana D. A Snapshot in Time: Improvements in the Conditions of Refugee Women and Children in Detention in Hong Kong. New York: Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, 1991.
Uncataloged
Follow up report to the author's 1990 Women's Commission report. She reports dramatic improvements, but has concerns about the decision not to fund additional detention centers.

Dean, Michael F. Education in Vietnam Today. Office of International Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1991.
Articles and Research Papers File
Up-to-date information on all levels of education in present-day Vietnam. Includes a list of institutions of higher education, and a glossary of Vietnamese educational terms.

Fass, Simon M. The Hmong in Wisconsin: On the Road to Self-Sufficiency. Milwaukee, WI: Wisconsin Policy Research Committee, 1991.
Uncataloged
Studied as a welfare migration population, this report makes the point that Hmong children are likely to get themselves and their families out of the welfare system through educational achievement.

Knudsen, John Chr. "Prisoners of International Politics: Vietnamese Refugees Coping with Transit Life." Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science. 18:1 (1990). 153-165.
Articles and Research Papers File
This study is based on the perceptions of Vietnamese refugees concerning their life in refugee camps as preparation for living in exile. Interviews were conducted at camps in Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Japan with refugees bound for Norway and the United States.

Leong, Frederick, T. L. and Mark C. Johnson. Vietnamese Amerasian Mothers: Psychological Distress and High-Risk Factors. Washington, D.C.: Office of Refugee Resettlement, 1992.
Uncataloged
In this study empirical data concerning Amerasian mothers is analyzed and compared with data on Amerasian adolescents as a group. Follow-up to an earlier study: Vietnamese Amerasians: Practical Implications of Current Research.

Nha, Ca. Kieu Chinh: Hanoi, Saigon, Hollywood. Orange, CA: Than Huu Pub., 1991.
PN2898 K5 N4 1991 Southeast Asian Archive
The life of Vietnamese actress Kieu Chinh. Well illustrated, with text in both English and Vietnamese.

Nguyen, Phong Thuyet. From Rice Paddies and Temple Yards: Traditional Music of Vietnam. Danbury, CT: World Music Press, 1990. L3560 V5 N5 1990 Southeast Asian Archive
Cassette and pamphlet. Includes songs, poetry and instrumental music. Provides information on Vietnamese history and culture, a general introduction to Vietnamese music and instruments, and 12 vocal and instrumental pieces for group use.

Ostergren, Joan Caryl. Relationships Among English Performance, Self-Efficacy, Anxiety, and Depression for Hmong Refugees. Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1991.
E184 H55 O78 1991a Southeast Asian Archive
Considers psychological and demographic variables related to learning English among 128 Hmong refugees in ESL programs.

Proschan, Frank. Khmu Verbal Art in America: The Poetics of Khmu Verse. Ph.D., University of Texas. 1989.
PL4452 P76 1989a Southeast Asian Archive
Concerns the more than 2,000 Khmu from Laos who immigrated to the United States after 1975. Focused on selected songs and other verse forms from recordings made in U.S. communities between 1982-1989, this work also includes ethnohistorical information about the Khmu in Laos and in the United States.

Thayer, Robert P. Who Killed Heng Lim? The Southeast Asian Experience of Racial Harassment and Violence in Philadelphia. Brattleboro, VT: Program in Intercultural Management, School for International Training, 1990.
Uncataloged
An in-depth report of hostilities against Southeast Asians in Philadelphia, with its focus the killing of a 37 year old Cambodian American man. Includes background on the Southeast Asian community in Philadelphia, extensive first-hand interviews, and analysis of existing practices of dealing with racial conflict.

Thompson, Janice L. "Exploring Gender and Culture with Khmer Refugee Women: Reflections on Participatory Feminist Research." Advances in Nursing Science. 13:3 (March 1991) 30-48. Articles and Research Papers File
This study combines community health nursing practice with feminist research. It discusses four recurring themes found in interviews with Khmer refugee women and discussion of their dreams and Cambodian myths.

Vo, Linda Trinh. "Southeast Asians and the Post-Refugee Communities: Redefining Differences among the 'Boat People.'" Paper presented at the Association for Asian American Studies Annual Conference, May 1992.
Articles and Research Papers File
Analyses Southeast Asian ethnic communities formed through secondary migration after the U.S. government's plans to disperse refugees throughout the country failed. These communities have functioned as support systems and aided in adjusting to a new country.

Westminster Police Department. The Effects of Crime and Violence on Asian American Youth and Family. Conference: Irvine, CA, September 2, 1992.
Uncataloged
Videorecording of the general sessions of the conference, with presentations by Prany Sananikone, Nghia Tran, Marcus Frank, and a panel of Asian American youth. Includes also "The Refugee's Struggle for Freedom, presented by UC Irvine's Project Ngoc.

Back	Top of Page