In A Part and Apart Erika Lee focuses on the immigrant experience of Asian Americans. Lee explains different theories of how race and ethnicity shape the immigrant experience. The article explains the concept of a model minority and how Asian Americans are only accepted as “American” when they fit the “model minority” standard. Lee explains that acceptance of Asian Americans has often been revoked throughout American history, giving Japanese internment as an example. The US also labeling Japanese Americans as “the bad Asians”, Lee also explains how this had helped the US lump a diverse group of people into one category. Asian Americans come from different countries with different cultures but in the US are seen as the same.
“Globalizing Migration Histories,” discusses two different migration cases, that of Italians and Canadians. Ramirez explains the Italian dysphoria and how Italians worked in many different parts of the world, creating Italian nation-states across the globe. When Ramirez discusses Canadian migration to the US he describes that in this case Canadians only migrated to the US and that they would often migrate to the same locations, differing from the Italian experience by not having a global impact, or being widely discussed, but still having a similar experience by creating a sort of chain migration pattern.
In “A Nation of Migrants,” Adam Goodman states that the “nation of migrants” idea is a cliché and reinforces inaccurate stereotypes in the US. The “nation of migrants” leaves out African Americans who were forced into moving and Native Americans. Even if this may have not been the intent, the idea promotes the idea that Americans are from European ancestry and invalidates other experiences.