Crossing the Pacific: The Asian American Experience in U.S. Society and Discourse

As the fastest growing group in the United States, Asian Americans have a significant presence in American society. Yet the Asian American experience has historically been an immigration story of hardship and discrimination, often punctuated by oscillating, and currently rising, levels of racist and political violence. While the U.S. government formally categorizes “Asian Americans” within one racial classification, a single “Asian American” experience is impossible to define. Asians and Pacific Islanders are not a monolithic group, but come from diverse traditions and cultures, and those groups’ arrival and subsequent integration into American society have also differed in significant ways.

Growing efforts have sought to foster collaboration among representatives of Asian American communities with organizations that research and document incidents of extremism and polarization, both historic and current. Yet recent high-profile affirmative action cases have put Asian American achievement into perceived conflict with other non-white groups. Many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, like Latino and African American voters, appear to have shifted their support from Democrats to Republicans in recent elections in key states. These voters may help determine the outcome of the 2024 elections – potentially one of the most consequential elections in American history.

This election is also set on a backdrop of growing geopolitical and economic rivalry between “the East” and “the West”. Both U.S. political parties have sought to use adversarial perceptions of (and from) China for electoral gain. China is portrayed as an example of a technological power and highly functional and technologically proficient society, which is neither democratic nor open, but presents itself as a geopolitical and economic rival to the United States. But China’s place in this discourse is not unique: forty years ago, Americans viewed Japan as the rising Asian power most challenging to the U.S. economically (and forty years before that, militarily). American involvement in Asian wars – in the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam and Indo-China, and Afghanistan – continues to influence U.S.-Asian dynamics geopolitically and domestically in various countries on both sides of the Pacific.

This year’s American Studies Program explored the long history of Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the United States. We examined their experiences with an eye toward lessons they might provide on the future and what they can contribute to understanding the evolving dynamics within the United States and, in the context of growing concern about potential conflicts between “East and West”, what this will mean for the future of Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the United States.

Date

Sep 18 - Sep 22, 2024

Session no.

S844-01

Location

Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg, Austria

Contact

Charles Ehrlich

Director, Peace and Justice

Antonio Riolino

Senior Program Manager

Content overview

Program Structure Key Questions VIDEOS Participants

Program Structure

The program included an intergenerational, international, and inclusive group of approximately 50 academics, policy makers, journalists, artists, and activists.

The highly-participatory format mixed curated conversations with distinguished guests, knowledge exchange, practical group workshops, and informal interactions on topical issues to maximize cross-sector interaction among participants. This format provides multiple opportunities for all participants to share their knowledge and expertise on equal terms and to build new alliances and research projects.

The program was designed around speakers, round tables, and discussion groups, and included diverse and intersectional representation. The program aimed:

Catalyze new approaches by American Studies scholars and practitioners on democratic principles and practice, informed by arts and culture, social commentary, and historical analysis;
Activate interdisciplinary networks of scholars, innovators, and practitioners working at the frontiers of democracy, pluralism, and inclusion in the United States and around the world; and
Incubate new ideas, research collaborations and cultural projects for dissemination through American Studies associations and other networks.

Key Questions

Key questions included:

What is the experience of Asians and Pacific Islanders in particular in shaping the cultural, social, and ideological map of America today? What do the historical experiences of Asian Americans tell us about American society today and into the future?
How do changes in Asia affect Asian Americans and global relations? What dynamics will influence global cooperation and potential conflict shaped by developments in the Indo-Pacific?
If containing and counteracting China geoeconomically, geopolitically, and militarily is one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement in the US, how does this influence U.S. domestic discourse? What is to be made specifically of the political assertiveness of China claiming to have a superior model based on an emphasis on social harmony, functional effectiveness, and technological proficiency?
How does divisive political rhetoric affect violence against Asian Americans? What does polarized political speech targeting specific groups as cultural adversaries – whether in the US or in other countries – say about levels of violence experienced by those communities?
What further research is needed to study the causes and drivers of potentially violent threats to democratic systems and cultural values around the world? How might academics and researchers focus their efforts to explain trends and have an impact on discourse and outcomes?

VIDEOS

We invite you to watch the 2024 Ron Clifton Lecture in American Studies. This lecture was inaugurated in 2018 to recognize the long service of the late Ron Clifton to the field of American studies at Salzburg Global Seminar.

This year marked the 76th edition of the Salzburg Global American Studies program, and the 2024 edition of the Ron Clifton lecture was given by Margaret Huang, President and CEO, Southern Poverty Law Center.

Watch the full lecture below: