I learned a great deal from The Latinos of Asia. Ocampo's accessible writing style and vast knowledge of what it means to be Filipino in America make the book a page-turner. Ocampo certainly accomplishes what my student observed as the book's major strength-he thoughtfully illuminates factors shaping the racial identity of an important, yet overlooked, ethnic group.
Emily ... Read moreWalton
Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
In this innovative book, Anthony Ocampo brings to light the ambiguities and ambivalences of a racial identity that is always Filipina/o but also contingently Asian, Latina/o, and even Pacific Islander. Brimming with unexpected findings and insightful explanations, The Latinos of Asia underscores the intrinsic instability and enduring power of race.
Moon-Kie Jung
author of Beneath the Surface of White Supremacy
Anthony Ocampo shows that understanding race in today's America means understanding a group that toes different racial lines: Filipino Americans. Through rich interviews and accessible prose, Ocampo explains how Filipino Americans straddle Latino and Asian racial categories, and what that straddling says about race in the United States today. This is the definitive account of the contemporary Filipino American experience.
Tomas R. Jimenez
Stanford University; author of Replenished Ethnicity: Mexican Americans Immigration, and Identity
The Latinos of Asia is a very thought-provoking and well-researched book that makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the diverse cultural and social experiences of Filipino Americans and Asian Americans, especially in terms of their ethnic and racial identities...The Latinos of Asia promises to be a highly regarded work on the contemporary Filipino American experience.
Jonathan Y. Okamura
Contemporary Sociology
Anthony Ocampo's fascinating study illustrates how Filipinos do not fit neatly into American racial categories. His highly accessible narrative carries the reader through different social and institutional contexts that draw Filipinos back and forth over panethnic lines, and challenge our notion of what panethnicity means in America.
Wendy Roth, Associate Professor of Sociology
The University of British Columbia
Are Filipino Americans Asian, Latino, or something else entirely? In this provocative book, Anthony Ocampo deftly combines survey analysis, in-depth interviews, and personal narrative to show that the answer is not a simple one. It depends critically on context and has important implications for matters such as life chances, life choices, and race relations in a rapidly diversifying nation.
Karthick Ramakrishnan, Professor and Associate Dean of Public Policy
University of California Riverside
The Latinos of Asia is an important contribution to the field of sociology and social science understandings of Filipinos in the United States. Although Ocampo's findings may be unique to Filipinos in the Los Angeles area, his work pushes open the door for more sociological research to examine Filipinos in the United States.
Daniel B. Eisen
Ethnic and Racial Studies
The Latinos of Asia presents an innovative analysis of Filipinos as an 'in-between' people straddling the stigmatized immigrant groups from Latin America and model minority newcomer populations from Asia. This book convincingly demonstrates that race is not a fixed characteristic of individuals and groups. Anthony Ocampo's work will capture the imagination of students of immigration, race, and ethnicity alike.
Ruben Hernandez-Leon
Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the UCLA Center for Mexican Studies
Analyzing Filipino American experiences of 'looking Asian but having a Spanish last name' or 'looking Mexican but identifying as Asian,' Ocampo shows how the children of Filipino immigrants constantly challenge the prevailing racial mapping rules in America. The Latinos of Asia is groundbreaking, offering an ingenious perspective on racial dynamics and formation.
Min Zhou
Tan Lark Sye Chair Professor of Sociology, Nanyang Technological University, and co-Author of The Asian American Achievement Paradox
This is a groundbreaking book about one of the least understood groups of people: Filipinos. As a people, we're a lot American, we're definitely Asian, and we're undeniably Latino. The Latinos of Asia is essential reading not only for the Filipino diaspora but for anyone who cares about the mysteries of racial identity.
Jose Antonio Vargas
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and founder of Define American and #EmergingUS
The Latinos of Asia is groundbreaking. Ocampo examines racial identities among Filipino Americans not just in relation to whites, but in relation to other minorities. Through candid and eloquent responses from Filipino American young adults, and engaging links to scholarly discussions, Ocampo tracks the fluidity of race and argues that place matters in how people come to think about themselves.
Robyn Rodriguez
UC Davis
The Latinos of Asia is essential reading for those interested in understanding the complexity of American race relations. The beautifully written accounts reveal how Filipinos struggle with the role of race and place in America and the implications of this struggle for how they create life goals, choose whom to love, and decide whom they will befriend. Weaving together different stories, Ocampo expertly shows that, by questioning and accepting panethnicity, Filipinos break and remake the rules of race.
G. Cristina Mora
American Journal of Sociology
Engaging and timely, The Latinos of Asia shatters static, homogenizing, and binary categorizations of Asian Americans and Latinas/os. Presenting powerful testimonials by Filipinos from two Los Angeles communities and centering dynamics in schools and neighborhoods, this must-read book complicates understandings of race, identity, and Los Angeles.
Gilda L. Ochoa
Author of Academic Profiling: Latinos, Asian Americans and the Achievement Gap
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