Asian/Pacific Islander American Women: A Historical Anthology. Ed. by Shirley Hune and Gail M. Nomura. (New York: New York University Press, 2003. xii, 426 pp. Cloth, $65.00, ISBN 0-8147-3632-7. Paper, $24.00, ISBN 0-8147-3633-5.)

Abstract

This rich collection heralds the growing significance of Asian/Pacific Islander American women in American history and women's history. The essays cover an impressive breadth of historical periods, specific groups of women, and topics ranging from immigration laws and policies, cultural formations and practices, sexualities, the effects of war and military occupation, and globalization and labor to social and political activism. Alongside chapters by established historians such as Judy Yung and Valerie Matsumoto, the volume showcases the diverse research of emerging scholars. While much of the volume focuses on the twentieth century, several contributors provide an earlier historical backdrop such as the establishment of Native Hawaiian culture between 600 and 1100 or the androcentric Korean households of the Choson dynasty (1392–1910). Pointing out how orientalism frames most histories of women in Asia, which emphasize patriarchy, Kathleen Uno proposes instead a more differentiated and nuanced picture of gender relations. Several essays illustrate...