On 10/30/19, Hunter hosted this program.
Peculiar Parallels between Asians and Jews in the Modern US Co-hosted with the Asian American Studies Program Jews have often been compared to other ethnic and religious groups in America, including Italians and Irish but especially African Americans. Above all, these comparisons reveal fundamental sociological differences as much as similarities. It is all the more surprising then that the clear parallels between east Asians and Jews have received so little attention.
Both groups were victims of discrimination and immigration restrictions, but both have also been stereotyped as “model minorities” defined by upward mobility and success in American capitalist society.
This lecture examined how Asians and Jews epitomize the concept of “overrepresented minorities,” groups that are highly vulnerable in part because they are perceived as successful and privileged. Of course, the reality, as outlined in this talk, is far more complex and ambiguous.
Watch the program below.
