Chinese Diaspora Archaeology in North America
Chinese Diaspora Archaeology in North America
Archaeologists are increasingly interested in studying the experiences of Chinese immigrants, yet this area of research is mired in long-standing interpretive models that essentialize race and identity. Showcasing the enormous amount of data available on the lives of Chinese people who migrated to North America in the nineteenth century, this volume charts new directions by providing fresh approaches to interpreting immigrant life. In this volume, leading scholars first tackle broad questions of how best to position and understand these populations. They then delve into a variety of site-based and topical case studies, providing new approaches to themes like Chinese immigrant foodways and highlighting understudied topics including entrepreneurialism, cross-cultural interactions, and conditions in the Jim Crow South. Pushing back against old colonial-based tropes, contributors call for an awareness of the transnational relationships created through migration, engagement with broader archaeological and anthropological debates, and the expansion of research into new contexts and topics. Contributors: Linda Bentz | Todd J. Braje | Kelly N. Fong | D. Ryan Gray | J. Ryan Kennedy | Christopher Merritt | Laura W. Ng | Virginia S. Popper | Adrian Praetzellis | Mary Praetzellis | Chelsea Rose | Douglas E. Ross | Charlotte K. Sunseri | Barbara L. Voss | Priscilla Wegars | Henry Yu
A strong presentation of ideas for advancing archaeological research on the challenges confronted and opportunities created by Chinese men and women who made their lives outside their homeland.’—Charles E. Orser Jr., author of The Archaeology of Race and Racialization in Historic America ‘This volume is the future of archaeological research on North America’s Chinese diaspora. The chapters brilliantly expand our knowledge of this dynamic and heterogeneous community by weaving together new evidence and theoretical perspectives. The result is a template for deepening our understanding of migrant communities across time and space.’—Edward González-Tennant, author of The Rosewood Massacre: An Archaeology and History of Intersectional Violence ‘Admirable for the quality of scholars assembled, this book pushes the field of Chinese diaspora archaeology in new directions.’—Mark S. Warner, author of Eating in the Side Room: Food, Archaeology, and African American Identity
Chelsea Rose is research faculty at Southern Oregon University. J. Ryan Kennedy is a research associate at the University of New Orleans.
Contents List of Figures List of Tables 1. Charting a New Course for Chinese Diaspora Archaeology in North America J. Ryan Kennedy and Chelsea rose 2. Reframing Overseas Chinese Archaeology as Archaeology of the Chinese Diaspora Douglass E. Ross 3. Towards Engaged and Critical Archaeologies of the Chinese Diaspora Kelly N. Fong 方少芳 4. Exposing Negative Chinese Terminology and Stereotypes Priscilla Wegars 5. Interethnic Relationships in 19th-Century Chinatowns: New Perspectives from Archaeological Research and Missionary Women’s Writings Barbara L. Voss 6. An Archaeology of a Chinese Laundryman in the Jim Crow South: The Sam Long Laundry, New Orleans, Louisiana D. Ryan Gray 7. Burned: The Archaeology of House and Home in Jacksonville, Oregon’s Chinese Quarter Chelsea Rose 8. “Let my Body Be Buried Here”: A Long View of Chinese Immigrants in the American West Adrian Praetzellis and Mary Praetzellis 9. Towards an Historical Archaeology of the Chinese in Montana and A Transnational Lens Christopher Merritt 10. Between South China and Southern California: the Formation of Transnational Chinese Communities Laura W. Ng 11. Meat Economies of the Chinese-American West Charlotte K. Sunserit 12. Bounty from the Sea: Chinese Foundations of the Commercial Shrimp, Squid, and Abalone Fisheries in California Linda Bentz and Todd J. Braje 13. Flexible Plant Food Practices Among the 19th Century Chinese Migrants to Western North America Virginia S. Popper 14. Multi-sited Networks: The Underlying Analytical Power of Transnational and Diasporic Approaches Henry Yu Index
