“Loving Couples and Families:” Assimilation as Honorary Whiteness and the Making of the Vietnamese Refugee Family

Integration studies of Vietnamese refugees and their children begin with the problem of assimilation based on cultural and racial difference and ultimately lead these groups to achieve upward mobility against great odds. While scholars have offered alternatives to linear models of assimilation which assume a prescribed path to determine when migrants become integrated, the ideologies and norms which underlie the so-called problem of assimilation remain largely unexamined. Building from a feminist and Foucauldian analysis of power, this article examines state-sponsored knowledge production, such as semi-annual government surveys of Vietnamese refugees as representations which reproduce and reinforce logics of heteronormativity and white supremacy. I contextualize the production of these social science surveys as legibility projects in the geopolitical context of international (Cold War) and domestic (state attempts to dismantle black power movements through civil rights) maintenance of white supremacy. By examining self-sufficiency surveys of Vietnamese refugees conducted upon arrival to the US from the 1970s–1980s and 1990s studies of the second generation, I argue that the family is an instrumental yet overlooked dimension of the racialization of Vietnamese as new immigrants which is rooted in heteronormative, Orientalist, and anti-black notions of family.

Introduction

This chapter explains how organizations and institutions that represent the interests of Muslims in the United States remain visible, engaged, and assertive despite the great odds they face. It discusses what motivates Muslim advocacy organizations to participate in the policy process when their ability to exert an influence in the current political climate seems limited. It also addresses why Muslims continue to mobilize around contentious foreign policy issues, such as the Palestinian—Israeli conflict, when it seems to be against their interests to do so. The chapter mentions Namira Islam's critique, which placed great emphasis on the need for cross-sectional coalition building, particularly with other communities of color. It describes the leadership and upper echelons of the national-level organizations as open and self-reflective with regard to criticism and their record of embracing Black, working-class, and inner-city Muslims.

Editorial: The New Year

The year 2020 seemed to be one in which things steadily continued to get worse, with each event more terrible than its predecessor. The pandemic has overshadowed everything, and has affected many aspects of our economy. The expression “do more with less” has added significance in our current situation. Budgets have been cut, staff have been laid off or furloughed, and others have had salary reductions. Our profession showed resilience, creativity, and determination in the face of great odds. New service models and ways of working emerged, and how libraries operate will be forever changed. We have successfully proven that we can work remotely. Virtual meetings and conferences are here to stay for a number of reasons, including holding down costs and enabling greater participation. Services like contactless pick up and going fine free were welcome additions and exemplify the spirit of community during a crisis. I personally learned the importance of advance disaster and emergency planning, which included a Zoom call with internationally recognized emergency and disaster planning expert Guy Robertson.

Me Against the World Tupac Shakur and Post-Cold War Alienation

This chapter narrows the analytical scope to examine a transnational icon's audience in one nation. More precisely, it explores the convergence of mass media and social discontent in the early post-Cold War era by focusing on the popularity of American hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur in Sierra Leone. Shakur's worldview was more nihilistic than that of either Guevara or Marley, and his iconic resonance has not reached the level of these figures. Nonetheless, Shakur offered poignant critiques of contemporary inequalities and so came to embody post-Cold War disillusionment and social alienation, particularly for young male audiences. To demonstrate this point, this chapter looks closely at rebel combatants' attraction to Shakur during the Sierra Leone civil war, one of the most harrowing conflicts of the late twentieth century. Militant factions embraced Shakur as an inspirational figure representing those attributes combatants wished for: empowerment and the ability to overcome great odds. They used Shakur T-shirts as uniforms and incorporated his lyrics into their everyday rhetoric. As a result, Tupac references in Sierra Leone offer a window on how young people sought broader relevance for their experiences and searched for meaning through the iconography of global popular culture.

The history of neurosurgery and its relation to the development and refinement of the frontotemporal craniotomy

The history of neurosurgery is filled with descriptions of brave surgeons performing surgery against great odds in an attempt to improve outcomes in their patients. In the distant past, most neurosurgical procedures were limited to trephination, and this was sometimes performed for unclear reasons. Beginning in the Renaissance and accelerating through the middle and late 19th century, a greater understanding of cerebral localization, antisepsis, anesthesia, and hemostasis led to an era of great expansion in neurosurgical approaches and techniques. During this process, frontotemporal approaches were also developed and refined over time. Progress often depended on the technical advances of scientists coupled with the innovative ideas and courage of pioneering surgeons. A better understanding of this history provides insight into where we originated as a specialty and in what directions we may go in the future. This review considers the historical events enabling the development of neurosurgery as a specialty, and how this relates to the development of frontotemporal approaches.

Women and STEM

While battling great odds in terms of discrimination and bias, women within the United States have made valuable contributions to the workforce. Now that the second decade of the 21st century is upon us, women have come into all facets of the workforce, finding a niche in Internet Communications Technology (ICT) as well as within Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), which should allow women more of an opportunity to pursue occupations. However, it seems that women are lagging in this part of the workforce within the constructs of science, technology, education, and mathematics also known as STEM. This glass ceiling, or gender barrier, may make matters worse in terms of reporting these kinds of women's issues because these reports are often written by men. In addition, the ideas and perceptions of masculinity and femininity have been scrutinized and analyzed in this chapter, and it is not difficult to realize the differences in gender based on biological functions.

Moved to Action: Motivation, Participation, and Inequality in American Politics. By Hahrie C. Han. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2009. 208p. $50.00 cloth, $19.95 paper.

This excellent book explores how and why people participate in politics, focusing mostly on those without the educational, financial, and civic resources that enable democratic participation in the United States. How is it, Hahrie Han asks, that a large, underresourced population returned to New Orleans against great odds to vote in a mayoral election? Han problematizes the received wisdom about political participation, bringing new attention to the seemingly intractable problem of political inequality in the United States. How did these people manage to come from out of town, many of them busing in and out on the same day, to vote in a municipal election? If we find the answer to this question, we may discover new ways to expand political participation in the United States, particularly among those populations that seem to be the most difficult to pull into the democratic decision-making process.