Rethinking Asian American Identity

This workbook was created with the purpose of establishing a better understanding of Asian American identity. The project reanalyzes what it means to be an “Asian American,” while students are exploring their own identity outside of the broadened definition created by America. As Asian American identity and experience are assumed to be homogenous, the workbook shows how Asian American identity is heterogeneous and hybrid by providing information on a wide range of topics including the history of Asian American immigration, immigration categories (refugee, voluntary, undocumented, etc), and the difference between race and ethnicity. The workbook also serves to introduce students to Asian American Studies in school prior to college. As Asian American Studies is still growing and developing, this project has the potential to empower the students to delve deeper into reflecting on their identities and communities as they learn more about themselves and the world that are not always visible in K-12 curriculum. This resource was created as part of AS AM 186: Creating AAS Open Educational Resources, taught by Dr. Jigna Desai at the University of California, Santa Barbara in Fall 2024.