This seminar traces the place of Chinese in discourses of public health, in the medical community and particularly with the Board of Health, to reflect on the how Chinese moved from plantation laborers to successful members of Hawai`i society. Chinese went from enduring racist treatment by government officials in the early years to reaching top levels of public health by the mid 20th century. That kind of path is often seen as a model of immigrant success. But the Chinese story in Hawai`i also raises questions about the notion of "model minority" and the complex and problematic wielding of such a term.
Video of Nancy Riley's presentation on 5/1/18 at East-West Center
Nancy Riley is a professor of sociology at Bowdoin College and a Visiting Scholar at the East-West Center. She is currently working on a book on Chinese experience in Hawai`i.
This seminar traces the place of Chinese in discourses of public health, in the medical community and particularly with the Board of Health, to reflect on the how Chinese moved from plantation laborers to successful members of Hawai`i society. Chinese went from enduring racist treatment by government officials in the early years to reaching top levels of public health by the mid 20th century. That kind of path is often seen as a model of immigrant success. But the Chinese story in Hawai`i also raises questions about the notion of "model minority" and the complex and problematic wielding of such a term.
Video of Nancy Riley's presentation on 5/1/18 at East-West Center
Nancy Riley is a professor of sociology at Bowdoin College and a Visiting Scholar at the East-West Center. She is currently working on a book on Chinese experience in Hawai`i.
