A Part, Yet Apart: South Asians in Asian America (Asian American History & Cultu) [Paperback]

Lavina Shankar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 1998 | Series: Asian American History & Cultu

As people from the cultures of the Indian subcontinent increasingly participate in the complex and often heated debates about race and ethnicity in the United States, they confront questions about naming and claiming an identity that designates their group in this country. To be sure, claiming any single identity omits, perhaps threatens to obliterate, the significant political, historical, economic, and religious differences between their countries of origin. However, the term "South Asian" is growing in acceptance among people in this country who trace their heritage to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Maldives because it acknowledges common interests while it allows for difference. This construction process parallels the gradual acceptance of the term "Asian American" by people primarily of East and Southeast Asian ancestry who found abundant reason to claim a shared identity in dealing with officialdom and an apparently intractable racism in this country. In time, "Asian American" has become a designation of collective pride for a wide range of people. In academic institutions and society generally, there are vexed questions about the term's inclusiveness and the dominance of established groups over more recent ones. "A Part, Yet Apart: South Asians in Asian America" concerns itself with the extent to which South Asian Americans are and ought to be included within Asian America as that term is applied to academic programs and admission policies; grassroots community organizing and politics more broadly; and, critical analyses of cultural products. Taken together these essays form a spirited dialogue on the dilemmas of identity politics, coalition building, and diasporics. Author note: Lavina Dhingra Shankar is Assistant Professor of English at Bates College, Maine. Rajini Srikanth is Adjunct Professor of American Studies at Tufts University, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The first comprehensive study of the peripheral position and invisibility of South Asian perspectives within Asian America --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Lavina Dhingra Shankar is Assistant Professor of English at Bates College, Maine.

Rajini Srikanth is Adjunct Professor of American Studies at Tufts University, Massachusetts. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 261 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (January 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156639578X
• ISBN-13: 978-1566395786
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,433,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars South Asians seek inclusion in Asian America, December 29, 2001

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This review is from: A Part, Yet Apart: South Asians in Asian America (Asian American History & Cultu) (Paperback)

At first glance, one may wonder why a book should be made about South Asians' demands to be more visible in the Asian-American community when many articles and college forums have already addressed the topic effectively. However, this anthology is well worth the effort. Here, academics analyze the history and social construction behind ideas such as "South Asians", "Asian America" and even "Asia" itself. One gets a sampling of the works of the top South Asian-American scholars around the country. Even as East Asians are criticized for hogging the spotlight, East Asian-American academics were allowed to submit pieces to the anthology. The book uses political campaigns, student groups, gay rights, and literature to answer many complex questions. Some essays are convoluted and odd (Song, Prashad) but most (like Roy and Shankar) are excellent. South Asians must buy this book and other Asian Americans will be equally challenged and pleased if they read this text as well.

I have one main criticism of this book. This book often re-iterates that South Asians get left out because both whites and East Asians think of all Asians as "yellow." However, this book fails to point out that South Asians get punished for being dark-skinned. If East Asians get considered "model minorities" or "a paler shade of white", it is partially due to their phenotype. This book doesn't discuss that many Americans confuse South Asians for Latinos. It doesn't mention how Urvashi Vaid was called "practically a [Black American epithet]" when she was appointed as the head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. It surprises me that the challenges of being "brown" rather than just "not being yellow" are not even mentioned here.