Description
1) Summary: Lee, Chapter 1, Los Chinos in New Spain and Asians in Early America.
Note that the pages numbers below are from the hard copy of the textbook, Making of Asian America. If you have the electronic copy, I specified where to start and end in parenthesis.
Read each section below. For each section, write 3-4 sentences explaining the author’s major argument(s) or main points. Then, identify and list in bullet points the key examples, evidence, or ideas that the author uses to support, develop, or advance these arguments. You do not have to explain the examples or evidence, but you should clearly identify them. Remember you are writing about the author’s perspective (and not your own). Begin with: “The author argues that….” (rather than the more descriptive and less analytical “This chapter is about…”).
If this feels overwhelming, try to step back after reading one section, and ask: What did I learn from this section? What are the key points that I took away from this section? What does the author want the reader to understand in this section? Use such brainstorming to help you determine the major arguments. Or you might work backward and identify the key examples and evidence first. After rereading your bullet points, determine the major arguments by asking: What is important about these examples? What do these examples show or prove? What message is the author trying to convey with these examples? Again, your goal is to explain the author’s main arguments or major points, and identify the key examples or evidence that substantiates these arguments.
Please label your responses clearly (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d).
1a) pages 15-19 (Start at the beginning of the chapter, and end at the page break, with the last paragraph ending with “a Jesuit historian explained in 1663.”)
1b) Pages 19-24 (start where you left off, and end at the page break, with the last paragraph ending “trade drop dramatically.”)
1c) Pages 24-29 (end with page break, “fountain dedicated to her is a local landmark”)
1d) Pages 29-33.
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2) Guided task
Watch film, Ancestors in the Americas: Coolies, Sailors, and Settlers. From the beginning to 23:45 (23 min, 45 second mark).
2a) Describe one part of the film (i.e. one scene, one particular topic, one issue, etc.), and explain how it helps you understand any part of Lee’s Chapter 1. Refer to concrete examples or evidence from both the film and reading. Write 3-5 sentences.
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2b) Describe another part of the film (i.e. another scene, another topic, etc.- different from your response in 2a), and explain how it helps you understand any part of Lee’s Chapter 1. Refer to concrete examples or evidence from both the film and reading. Write 3-5 sentences.
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3) Thinking
Read through the 1790 Naturalization Act. We discussed this act during our last class in the context of African Americans in the United States. Think about the significance of this law for Asians in America who arrived during this time period, and in consideration of the reading and film.
