Asian Americans:

In the 1950s/60s, a large crowd of Asian immigrants came to America. Asian immigration cannot be generalised because completely different groups from all over Asia have immigrated to the US. Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Indian, Pakistani and Vietnamese immigrants do not form one socio-economic group because of differences in their language, culture, background and religion. That is why every Asian group has a different reputation in American society.

In 1850, Chinese people were the first immigrants who worked as railroad workers and in agriculture, mining and service industries. Chinese immigrants tended to separate themselves from American society and they lived together in clusters. These areas of a city became known as Chinatown. Americans feared Chinese people, who did not assimilate well and did not agree with the principles of the melting pot. The American society developed xenophobia and dislike towards Chinese people.

Through the media, the term “Yellow Peril” [dt.: gelbe Gefahr] became famous, which describes the Western fears that Chinese people would disturb American principles and values. Due to this fear of the increasing immigration rate and that Chinese people would take American jobs, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882. It was forbidden for Chinese people to immigrate until 1965.

Another Asian minority are Japanese people who also worked in agriculture. In 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbour, which is why 120,000 Japanese Americans were relocated and send into concentration camps during World War II. In 1946, they were freed and Japanese companies eventually became successful. Japanese and Korean immigrants have similar traditions and values. A high level of education, family, religion and their native language is quite important for them. Because of economic growth in Korea, the immigration rate from Korea to the US has decreased.

In contrast to the decreasing immigration rate from Korea, the number of Vietnamese immigrants has increased mainly because of the bad political and economic situation in Vietnam after the Vietnam War. Just like immigrants from Laos and Cambodia, immigrants from Vietnam have a low socioeconomic status and their living standards differ from those of other Asian immigrants. For example, Filipinos and Indians also belong to the group of Asian immigrants, but acquiring the English language is easier for them, as the Philippines used to be a colony of the USA and India.

Although there is a huge diversity of immigrants from different countries in America, Asian Americans are seen as the model minority stereotype. Model minority stereotype is defined through characteristics like being smart, hard-working, self-reliant, docile, submissive and working towards the “American Dream”. Asians are famous for being prepared and motivated for college and achieving a successful carrier through their ambition. However, due to Covid hate crimes against Asian-presentin people are on the rise again.

For a very long time, America was defined as a melting pot. The term “Melting pot” is a metaphor for generations of immigrants who would “melt” together. They disassociated themselves from their former culture and assimilated into American society. The term “salad bowl” describes the current situation in America and reflects the opposite of the “melting pot”. The term Salad bowl describes the (peaceful) coexsitence of different cultures, whereby each community sticks to their former culture. It can be compared to the different ingredients – like tomatoes, corn, carrots – of a salad.

Unfortunately, migrants, not just in the US, but all over the world, often are afraid of not being welcome. Turning into an outsider and being seen as a misfit brings emotional and psychological problems and it is common for migrants to have problems of identity. Especially as a member of a minority group they might struggle between their former culture and the culture they are now living in. This conflict could lead to problems of identity. Again, the idea of white supremacy in western society is important here. Identity issues can also be related to the chapter "Great Britain" as well as to the story "My son the fanatic". Various types of immigration, including the year, the group and reasons for immigration are presented below. The table is supposed to provide a brief overview of the main immigration groups.

Push- and pull-factors

Whenever we use the term immigration, we can talk about so-called pull- and push-factors which are political and economic aspects that “pull” migrants to another country, and “push” them from their home country. Pull-factors like political stability, economic benefits, advantages concerning education and later employment cause migrants to leave their former country and seek a better life in a different one. Factors such as discrimination, religious, political or personal persecution, oppression and norm-destroying war “push” migrants out of their home country.

Das Zusammenleben im Zuge der Migration ist bisher eines der beliebtesten Themengebiete im Abitur gewesen, da sich leicht Bezüge zu anderen Halbjahren herstellen lassen.

Amerika als Land der unbegrenzten Möglich­keiten war schon immer ein beliebtes Einwan­derungsland. Menschen immigrierten mit dem Gedanken, ihre eigene Vorstellung vom American Dream verwirklichen zu können. Damit lässt sich die Migration mit dem American Dream verbinden. An dieser Stelle können berühmte ausländische Bürger Amer­ikas erwähnt werden, welche ihren American Dream erfüllen konnten.

Häufig wird bei Migration und dem American Dream auch der Begriff “living together“ im Abitur verwendet. Das Zusammenleben der Amerikaner mit Immigranten, aber auch mit Minderheiten (wie zum Beispiel die schwarze Bevölkerung) ist ein beliebtes Thema. Es sollen möglicherweise Bezüge zur afro-amerikan­ischen Geschichte hergestellt werden, aber auch zum Zusammenleben und der Integra­tion von Minderheiten in anderen Ländern lässt sich ein halbjahresübergreifender Bezug herstellen (UK und Südafrika). Beliebtes Thema der Q2 ist beispielsweise Multikulturalismus (UK). Die Vor-/ Nachteile der ethnischen Diver­sität und Fehlversuche bzw. Erfolge von Inte­gration sowie die Assimilation sollen häufig in der Transferaufgabe diskutiert und die Begrifflichkeiten “Assimilation“ und “Integration“ miteinbezogen werden.

Die Begriffe “melting pot“ und “salad bowl“ lassen sich hinsichtlich der amerikanischen Gesellschaft im Bezug zum Umgang mit Minderheiten immer einbringen.

Thema des Multikulturalismus ist bei Immi­granten oft die Frage der Zugehörigkeit und damit die Problematik der Identitätsfindung in einer Kultur. Diese Thematik lässt sich auf das in der Q3 behandelte Thema “being different“ beziehen. Es kann durchaus auch vorkommen, dass der Protagonist im vorgegebenen Text mit einer im Unterricht behandelten Person vergli­chen werden soll.

Wie man sieht, lassen sich einige Bezüge herstellen, wodurch deutlich wird, warum dieser Punkt im Abitur so beliebt ist. Man sollte sich (nicht nur auf Migration beziehend) über halbjahresübergreifende Bezüge bewusst werden.