1995 National Asian American Studies Exam

1.  The Chinese Americans responsible for completing the transcontinental railroad constituted 90 percent of the work force of which company?

(blank) Southern Pacific Railroad Western Pacific Railroad Central Pacific Railroad Missouri Pacific Railroad Union Pacific Railroad

2.  The Asian American ethnic group which has the highest percentage employed as managers and professionals and the lowest percentage employed in services is

(blank) Vietnamese American Japanese American Chinese American Korean American Asian Indian American

3.  In which case did the Supreme Court rule that the Naturalization Act of 1790 specifically excluded Asian Indian Americans from U.S. citizenship?

(blank) Kumar (1906) Thind (1923) Khan (1926) Bagai (1928) Das (1933)

4.  Which prominent Filipino American wrote:  "America is not one class of men.  We are all Americans that have toiled and suffered and known oppression, from the first Indian that offered peace in Manhattan to the last Filipino pea pickers."

(blank) Karin Aguilar-San Juan Carlos Bulosan Sophie Bilbat Hazel Simbe George Pimentel

5.  The prevalence of Chinese American-owned laundries in the 1920s and 1930s:

(blank) tended to be concentrated in the Chinatowns of a few major cities reflected the ethnic segregation of the U.S. labor market was welcomed by white business owners and politicians demonstrated the commercial value of certain skills learned in China all of the above

6.  All of the following stereotypes of Chinese Americans were used by the politicians and the press to argue for the restriction of Chinese immigration in the late 19th century except:

(blank) immoral deceptive superstitious cowardly lazy

7.  Before 1913, which of the following arrangements was utilized by Japanese American farmers who did not own land, but could take financial responsibility for obtaining tools, seed, fertilizer, and other provisions?

(blank) silent partner contract migrant lease share

8.  The Japanese American Citizens League, established in 1930, initially advocated all of the following strategies for gaining a stake in American society except:

(blank) retention of Japanese culture ethnic solidarity political agitation American patriotism acceptance of employment discrimination

9.  As a result of the post-1965 wave of Asian immigration, the two most significant changes to the ethnic profile of the Asian American population were:

(blank) proportionately fewer Japanese Americans and more Vietnamese Americans proportionately fewer Chinese Americans and more Filipino Americans proportionately fewer Cambodian Americans and more Laotian Americans proportionately fewer Korean Americans and more Indian Americans none of the above

10.  The aspirations of second-generation Asian Hawaiians in the 1930s were more likely to be met than those of their mainland Asian American counterparts for all of the following reasons except:

(blank) Asian Hawaiian workers did not displace a large white working class plantation camps gave Asian Hawaiians a strong sense of community Asian Hawaiian communities had a relatively high proportion of women Asian Hawaiian children had been schooled to accept their parents' position white Hawaiians did not hold a monopoly on class privilege

11.  According to Karin Aguilar-San Juan, many young Asian Americans have focused on affirming their Asian heritage at the expense of understanding the historical struggle of Asian Americans against racism.  The term she uses to describe and criticize this perspective is:

(blank) mainstreaming ethnic consciousness assimilation identity politics multiculturalism

12.  According to Milyoung Cho, journalists covering the aftermath of the 1982 Los Angeles riots interviewed Korean American community leaders primarily in order to:

(blank) provide a balance of perspectives on an important current event engage Korean Americans in the mainstream debate on race depict Korean Americans as universally condemning African Americans portray Korean Americans as disunited and apathetic give a voice to Korean Americans whose businesses had been destroyed

13.  When R. Radhakrishnan's son asks, "Am I Indian or American?" the answer that he is both neglects which issue?

(blank) The son will face discrimination to the extent that he identifies as Indian. The son knows much more about American culture than about Indian culture. The son should forge a new hybrid identity in the United States. The son's identity and perspective cannot be fully understood by his father. The son has little or no emotional attachment to India.

14.  According to Richard Fung, the films Do The Right Thing and Sally's Beauty Spot both raise which of the following questions?

(blank) How are the Asian American and African American experiences similar? Are Asian Americans portrayed accurately in African American films? Must Asian Americans claim blackness in order to fight racism? Are relationships between Asian Americans and African Americans "taboo"? Which ethnic group was most victimized by the 1992 Los Angeles riots?

15.  According to Sonia Shah, how has the Asian American women's movement adapted to changes in the Asian American community since the 1960s?

(blank) Asian American feminism has emerged distinct from black and white feminism. The movement has succeeded in unifying across class divisions. The movement has substantially influenced mainstream American culture. The focus has shifted to the needs of immigrant and oppressed communities. New communications technologies are being used in networking.

16.  According to Peter Kiang, the Cambodian community in Lowell, Massachusetts in the 1980s had parallel experiences with the Irish community in the 1950s in all of the following respects except:

(blank) the role of religious leaders in formal negotiations with city officials economic recession impacting the industrial labor market overwhelming political support for nativist positions the accommodationist tendency of middle-class entrepreneurs the role of religious institutions as centers of the community

17.  According to Rita Chaudhry Sethi, the words guru, nirvana, pundit and mantra are all examples of Hindu terms which:

(blank) indicate the acceptance of Indian Americans among American linguists demonstrate the growing influence of Eastern religions on American culture have become meaningless buzzwords illustrate the internal diversity of the Indian American population have been appropriated with connotations of irreverence or disbelief

18.  According to Lane Hirabayashi and Marilyn Alquizola, undergraduate courses in Asian American studies at San Francisco State University have been developed as a "service-oriented" program.  Here, service-oriented means:

(blank) providing the widest possible range of topics in Ethnic Studies encouraging students to perform unpaid work in the community providing a standard curriculum to large classes focusing on teaching rather than research focusing on practical applications rather than theoretical issues

19.  According to Jessica Hagedorn, a novel which is remarkable for "the scope of its ambition . . . because it confronts head-on a society of immigrants, aliens, others, natives, spirits, racists, angels, devils, and other sacred cows with courage, compassion, humor and breathtaking genius" is:

(blank) Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" Amy Tan's "The Kitchen God's Wife" Hanif Kureishi's "The Buddha of Suburbia" Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior" Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner"

20.  Asian American activists regularly demonstrate against the Chinese American Planning Council in New York City because of the council's

(blank) opposition to bilingual education unfair lending policies illegal and unfair labor practices opposition to City Council redistricting housing discrimination