Vietnamese Americans

Conducting oral historical interviews of fifty-seven first and 1.5 generation Vietnamese American men, women, and their children in Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and surrounding areas in Washington, the author explores how post-racial theory is a myth and how the model minority stereotypes still haunt most Vietnamese Americans. In her book, Nguyen hopes to open spaces for discussions about issues of the intersections of race, gender and class with linguistic, cultural and technological barriers as reflected in the experience of the participants. The results show that they often face barriers to upward social mobility regardless of English proficiency and technological skills. Among them, women are likely to be considered less proficient than their male counterparts in accessing and using computers and the Internet. A few men perform traditional female roles due to technological, linguistic and cultural challenges. Given its interdisciplinary scope, this book is designed for a wide range of readers and scholars in diverse fields, including Southeast Asian American Studies, Asian American Studies, Sociology, Womens Studies, Mens Studies and Gender Studies.

Xuan Truong Thi Nguyen, Ph.D. in American Studies (May 2011), has experienced in teaching introductory courses in Comparative Ethnic Studies, Asian American Studies and online Women's Studies at Washington State University. Her research areas include digital diversity and adaptations to technology by Vietnamese American refugees and immigrants.