Asian American connective action in the age of social media : civic engagement, contested issues, and emerging identities

Social media provides ethno-racial immigrant groups—especially those who cannot vote due to factors such as lack of citizenship and limited English proficiency—the ability to mobilize and connect around collective issues. Online spaces and discussion forums have encouraged many Asian Americans to participate in public policy debates and take action on social justice issues. This form of digital group activism serves as an adaptive political empowerment strategy for the fastest-growing and largest foreign-born population in America. Asian American Connective Action in the Age of Social Media illuminates how associating online can facilitate and amplify traditional forms of political action. James Lai provides diverse case studies on contentious topics ranging from affirmative action debates to textbook controversies to emphasize the complexities, limitations, and challenges of connective action that is relevant to all racial groups. Using a detailed multi-methods approach that includes national survey data and Twitter hashtag analysis, he shows how traditional immigrants, older participants, and younger generations create online consensus and mobilize offline to foment political change. In doing so, Lai provides a nuanced glimpse into the multiple ways connective action takes shape within the Asian American community. Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1. Logging On and Getting Civically Connected 2. The Racial Paradox and Emerging Political Contours of Asian Americans: How Connective Action Challenges and Amplifies Them 3. Conceptualizing a Model for Asian American Connective Action 4. Case Study 1: The 2016 Trial of New York Police Department Officer Peter Liang and the Connective Action Mobilization by First-Generation Chinese Americans 5. Case Study 2: The Asian American Community’s Online and Offline Affirmative Action Battle over the 2012 California Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 Bill 6. Case Study 3: Data Disaggregation and the 2016 California Assembly Bill 1726—How Connective Action Helped Determine the Narrative and Outcome 7. Case Study 4: The 18 Million Rising Website and Its Role as an Online Conduit for Progressive Asian American Activism 8. Case Study 5: The 2016 California Textbook Controversy—South Asian Americans and the #DontEraseIndia Campaign 9. Case Study 6: Establishing World War II Korean Comfort Women Memorials in U.S. Cities and the Online Mobilization against Them 10. On the Virtues and Perils of Asian American Connective Action Notes References Index "Develops a 'connective action' model for Asian Americans to examine the relationship between social media platforms and civic engagement"-- Provided by publisher Examines how social media has changed the way Asian Americans participate in politics