Counting and Discounting Asians in the Americas:

National and Local Constructions of Race and Ethnicity

 

 

(a) Project Narrative

 

Migrants to the Americas from the continent of Asia have been encountering other migrants from Europe, Africa, and the rest of the world for centuries. As increasing globalization and transnational migration reshape current society, we need new languages and categories in order to understand both contemporary and historical constructions of race and ethnicity. The first step in any such scholarly study, however, is to understand the myriad ways in which migrants to specific locations and at particular times have been defined and if they have been counted, how they have been counted.

 

This project focuses on migrants from Asia to the Americas as a test case for understanding how migration and the subsequent contacts between peoples have been categorized. As the foundation for future studies of transnational migration from Asia, it is essential to study how data about the numbers of migrants have been gathered historically and in the present, and how such numbers have been derived.  For instance, when examining just the measurement of ethnicity alone, an international conference convened in April 1992 by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and Statistics Canada found that each participating country constructed ethnicity differently.

 

Construction was dependent on demography–how homogeneous or heterogeneous a country is, the state’s ideas of inclusion or exclusion, and who decides what the officially recognized groups are.  The distinguishing feature by which populations groups are known is generally called ethnicity, but in fact this varies by country.  For example, in Canada, the focus is on ancestry, reflecting the immigrant origins of most Canadians.  In Malaysia, as well as in India and Indonesia, religion, language, and caste are definitive features.  In the United States, attention is to skin color and blood quantum.  Hispanic America and the Caribbean focus on language and culture….Some participants viewed race as a dimension of ethnicity while others mentioned ethnicity within the context of race.” (Tamayo Lott, Juanita.  Asian Americans: From Racial Category to Multiple Identities.  Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press,1998; p. 25-26)

 

The historically inconsistent and shifting definitions and classifications of Asians creates challenges for scholars who wish to study them as a distinct political and demographic group or as its distinct subgroups based on national origin, such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, or Indian.  More specifically, very little documentation exists on the way Latin American countries count Asians using their national census.  A preliminary review of research on Asians in Latin America reveals researchers’ reliance on alternative data such as immigration records, land/business/home ownership records, and demographic data collected by international or other organizations.  The census taking process in Latin American countries as it relates to Asians and alternative demographic data sources need to be identified and documented, as well as any corresponding data collection problems.  For example, when records are examined and last names are used to distinguish Asians, undercounts often occur because cases are missed for Asian migrants whose names were Westernized or for women who married out.  An undercount can also occur when relying on land/business/home ownership data which do not provide the number of family members the owner has.

 

Many research questions arise in order to understand the counting of Asians.  The ones proposed for this research project are:

 

1)      Demography of the Americas: Were Asians counted in the distinct countries of the Americas?  How were they counted over the years?  When did they begin to get counted?  How many were there?  How often is the census taken?  What other Census data are collected that provide an alternative count on race, ethnicity, or national origin? (for example, religion, language use, etc.)  What other records are available to provide an alternative count on race, ethnicity, or national origin? (for example, home or business ownership)

2)      Information Documentation: Are census data available?  How are census data organized?  How can they be available digitally?  How are Asians documented to facilitate the retrieval of relevant census data?  What data have been used in earlier studies to count Asians? (i.e., were reliable sources of data used?, if so, what were they?, if not, which studies are inaccurate?)

 

How one is counted, if at all, in a census signifies the status that Asians or its subgroups are accorded in the diaspora.  For some groups, such as the Chinese and Filipinos, their history in the Americas is over 300 years old and for Indians and Japanese over 130 years.  Yet, in some parts of the Americas an Asian consciousness is absent and the subgroups are not differentiated as anyone Asian is referred to as Chinese or chino.  Understanding the legal and social categorizations of Asians in the Americas also serves as the foundation for the study of their history, economics, public policy, and political participation as well as the social construction of information on Asians in the Americas.  In this particular project we bring together the expertise of an information scientist and historian to: (1) explore the historical development of counting Asians in the census of the countries in the Americas, and (2) document the resources used in prior research and the resources available to count Asians in the Americas.

 

(b) Methodology

 

Studies of diaspora have often assumed that there is an essential definition of some group that is "Asian" or "Chinese" or "Japanese" that is the subject of study.  Wide variations in intermarriage patterns, in legal status, in cultural transformations, and in other factors that make clear conceptual boundaries impossible, have often been minimized as a serious challenge to such definitions of a timeless race or ethnicity. Such studies have been based upon an assumption that the people being studied are Asian (or Chinese or Japanese or some other narrower national or ethnic definition of Asian origin), when they may have not been understood or may not have understood themselves, as being from Asia in any sense.  These cases point to the need to examine whether distinctions are made between people who are recent migrants and those who are descendents of Asian migrants.  Such an examination will reveal the extent to which categorization of Asians serve as forms of inclusion or exclusion in society, and whether they are externally or internally imposed.

 

The proposed project on how Asians in the Americas are counted or discounted will seek to understand this topic from a demographic and documentary perspective in historical and contemporary contexts.  More specifically, it will:

·         Identify different means of counting Asians in the Americas: gathering the data and analysis of the accuracy and sources of that data

·         Learn how each country in the Americas counts Asians: historical analysis of population counts and national census data; demographic analysis of population trends and migration patterns

·         Document the different means of counting Asians in the Americas: an electronic research guide will be produced and a workshop will serve as a forum for discussion and dissemination of findings

 

Records and resources available locally and online will be used.  Individual researchers and librarians, and research discussion lists will be contacted to assist in the identification of data.  Primary sources, such as government records and legal documents will be examined, as well as secondary sources, such as research studies.  The latter will be used to determine the diverse sources used by researchers to obtain counts of Asians, and whether their counts are reliable.  The limited dissemination and availability of Latin American archival records will necessitate travel.  Trips will be made to two Latin American countries which records we are not able to access locally and online.

 

In order to test and develop a model of multidisciplinary inquiry, we are establishing a multidisciplinary incubator research group whereby the principal investigators and graduate research assistants will be research associates.  While mentoring is taking place, learning will be a two-way process.  Regular group meetings will be held to discuss our separate and joint tasks and findings.  The findings from the research as well as the research guide will be presented in a workshop in Spring 2001.

 

(c) Expected Outcomes

 

The following are the products to be created: