Author: Sakata, Hiromi Lorraine

Publication Year: 1981

Media Type: Report

Summary:

The Asian-Americans constitute the most diverse of all the ethnic minority groups in America. They consist of Americans whose ethnic heritages originate in Oceana, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. The individual ethnic groups that make up this large conglomerate designated by the name Asian share little history, culture, or any common language except English.

Abstract:

The Asian-Americans constitute the most diverse of all the ethnic minority groups in America. They consist of Americans whose ethnic heritages originate in Oceana, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. The individual ethnic groups that make up this large conglomerate designated by the name Asian share little history, culture, or any common language except English.

Their American experiences are vastly different, and there is little traditional contact between the various groups in the . The contacts and the consciousness are phenomena of the last decade when many ethnic minorities in America began to ask for recognition.

The Chinese and Japanese were the first of the Asian immigrant groups to settle in the , followed by the Filipinos. More recently, numbers of Koreans and Mainland Southeast Asians such as the Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians have settled in the and along with the Polynesians are included in the Asian-American ethnic group.

In many traditional Asian cultures, music is an artistic expression for intellectuals and the wealthy, or is simply a communal or individual passtime. It is often seen as an effective means of personal development with its requirements of discipline and aesthetics.

Since music studies in the involved mainly Western or European art music, it confirmed to most Asian-Americans that Asian music was not worthy of being considered as a profession, to be included in the educational curriculum. Luckily, the lack of Asian music in the schools did not preclude the appreciation or pursuit of ethnic music within individual communities. (p. 29-32)

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Arts Education