When Model (Minorities) Turn Ugly: The Neoliberal Portrayal of Asian Americans in the United States
Format
Oral Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Jeffrey Hole
Faculty Mentor Department
English
Abstract/Artist Statement
How do neoliberal ideologies penetrate the image of the “Model Minority” stereotype of Asian Americans? With the highly publicized “Tiger Mother” image of Amy Chua, there has been a rising inclination to symbolize the Asian American nuclear family as the new face of American neoliberalism. However, reverence towards Asian American parents’ capital driven motifs can be seen, as Lee Edelman claims, a form of “capital-compatible ‘reproductive futurism’” (347). In this panel, I present the writings of several critics of neoliberalism, including David Harvey, Bill Readings, and Christopher Newfield, each of whom present different challenges towards neoliberalism and this notion of reproductive futurism. This includes Harvey’s assessment of China’s desperate attempts at competing in the world market through rapid urbanization, or the United States’ equivocation of political interests with economic sympathy with providing aid to foreign nations. Using the data and information gathered from their books, I look at the ways in which neoliberalism takes advantage of creating rhetoric to create an era of “pseudointegration” in U.S. history. The audience should expect an overview of different historical vantage points that create wealth and status disparities as a result of neoliberalism. However, they should also be aware of the deliberate rhetoric often used to promote neoliberalism as a normative mode of economic governance (or lack thereof), and how this rhetoric affects the portrayal of Asian Americans in mainstream American culture.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Room 211
Start Date
25-4-2015 10:00 AM
End Date
25-4-2015 12:00 PM
When Model (Minorities) Turn Ugly: The Neoliberal Portrayal of Asian Americans in the United States
DeRosa University Center, Room 211
How do neoliberal ideologies penetrate the image of the “Model Minority” stereotype of Asian Americans? With the highly publicized “Tiger Mother” image of Amy Chua, there has been a rising inclination to symbolize the Asian American nuclear family as the new face of American neoliberalism. However, reverence towards Asian American parents’ capital driven motifs can be seen, as Lee Edelman claims, a form of “capital-compatible ‘reproductive futurism’” (347). In this panel, I present the writings of several critics of neoliberalism, including David Harvey, Bill Readings, and Christopher Newfield, each of whom present different challenges towards neoliberalism and this notion of reproductive futurism. This includes Harvey’s assessment of China’s desperate attempts at competing in the world market through rapid urbanization, or the United States’ equivocation of political interests with economic sympathy with providing aid to foreign nations. Using the data and information gathered from their books, I look at the ways in which neoliberalism takes advantage of creating rhetoric to create an era of “pseudointegration” in U.S. history. The audience should expect an overview of different historical vantage points that create wealth and status disparities as a result of neoliberalism. However, they should also be aware of the deliberate rhetoric often used to promote neoliberalism as a normative mode of economic governance (or lack thereof), and how this rhetoric affects the portrayal of Asian Americans in mainstream American culture.