Korean American study
No need to type the exam questions as long as you indicate which question you are answering. -Make sure to type all the answers in double space and 12 font format.
Your Midterm Exam shall amount to 7-8 pages. Going beyond the page limit may lose you some points
The following are questions to encourage you to think about your assigned readings. Your essays should reflect, insofar as possible, your own ideas, analyses, etc. You should rely primarily on the works assigned in class. Do not forget to make references wherever appropriate. Be comprehensive in your answers. I shall be looking for your ability to synthesize material, to be critical, and to be original. Use the questions below as outline to your answer.
1. (12P) Helen Lee’s book, Between Foreign and Family: Return Migration and Identity Construction among Korean Americans and Korean Chinese, helps us understand what the experience of “returning” is for coethnic migrants of different national origins.
A). Examine the pre-migration condition, specifically institutional policies towards Korean/Asian Americans in the U.S, and the Korean minority in China. After arriving in South Korea with distinct legal statuses, how have these ethnic returnees had distinct experiences in the labor market?
B). How do Korean Americans strategically deploy different amalgams of nationality, ethnicity, and global citizenship to advance their individual and collective agendas in South Korea? How are gender-specific strategies adopted by Korean American males and females used to maximize their social status in South Korea?
2. (10P) A). What problems did Korean wives of U.S. servicemen face?
B). Consider the article, “Diaspora of Camptown: The Forgotten War’s Monstrous Family.” What are the strengths of this piece? What did the author do particularly well?
3. (8P) Compare the new, post-’65 Korean immigrants with the early immigrants from that country.
4. (10P) A). Explain how LA’s Koreatown has re-developed in the aftermath of the civil unrest of 1992.
B). Deann Borshay Liem produced a documentary about Korean adoption: First person plural. In relation to the theme of this course, discuss what is at issue here.
