In teaching Asian American literature on the college level, the first consideration is to try to choose works that dispel the dominant stereotypes. One of these stereotypes is the "otherness" myth that Asian American culture is very exotic, distant, mysterious, as in "the mysterious and far East." In reality, Asian Americans…

Latin elements or themes made for the North American market have been used in American films, but at the same time these films have been playing in a Latin American market, making it useful to examine how Latin America has been portrayed in these films. The taste for exotic locales and themes is an element that has been present since the…

Canadian Indians have long been represented by stereotypes presented by non-native writers. Only recently have Indians begun to create their own literature and re-examine historic sources of native speech and tales. This paper traces early European views of the bloodthirsty native and the noble savage, but contrasts them with recorded comments of…

Within the framework of "symbolicity" and "nativistic movement" the paper presents a "reasonably balanced and illustrative" examination of selected negative and positive trends in Native American symbolicity. Symbolicity is defined as the state, condition, and tendency of people to organize their perceptions and…

This paper discusses bias against southern and eastern European ethnic groups as it appears in current elementary school textbooks, popular fiction, newspapers, television, and movies. Anti-ethnic sentiment expressed by nineteenth and twentieth century politicians is also mentioned. It is held that bias and stereotypes in the media perpetuate and…

In traditional American Indian cultures, sex roles were clearly defined and women were the keepers of the home, child bearers, and food gathers. Sometimes, however, stereotypes and preconceptions become barriers to cross-cultural communication. For instance, feminists who see themselves as victims of a male-dominated society cannot assume that…

There is a widely shared belief that Asian Americans have overcome the bondage of racial discrimination to become a successful model minority. In this essay, the empirical basis of this success contention is examined against its historical background and the remifications of the belief are explored. First, the ascendance of the Asian American…

Before teachers can heed recent calls for planning literary experiences that expose children to books about people in other cultures, they need to evaluate the books on the many ethnic booklists. This evaluation process can be confusing, due to the varying quality of multiethnic literature for children. There are five questions that teachers…

Reviews Civil Rights movement and the politicalization of black Americans which occurred in the 1940s. Describes conservative racism and liberal racism, and explains the culture of poverty and how it relates to the concept of "blaming the victim." Concludes that educators should be aware of all of these concepts in order to help end racism. (BR)

Discusses the rationale for the development of multicultural literature for children via stories that portray people from different ethnic backgrounds, or stories that are derived from other cultures. Presents some of this new literature, emphasizing its strengths and weaknesses, and suggests ways to ensure authenticity, particularly in the use of…

Reviews research findings on ethnic bias and stereotyping in textbooks and discusses the ways in which descriptions of ethnic diversity in Canada are being improved. The author discusses new government educational policies which call for textbook changes and outlines basic guidelines for establishing standards for textbook portrayal of cultural…

Reprint of a 1971 article that criticizes the notion of Black matriarchy as implying that Black women actively assented to slavery. Discusses Black resistance to slavery, especially among women, and stresses the importance of recognizing such resistance if current popular sociological views on Black women are to be revised. (GC)

Demonstrates how television and radio commercials for French products capitalize on American and French cultural stereotypes. (AM)

Examines the "push and pull factors" model in Hispanic immigration, and argues that women's immigration experiences, being widely different from those of men, are not readily reducible to a simple poverty/jobs equation. Further, the push/pull thesis of jobs and poverty only reinforces negative stereotypes of hordes of immigrants fleeing…

Explores the relationship among the self-image of third-generation Japanese-American males, sexual dynamics within corporations, and their managerial behavior. Argues that ethnic and sexual stereotypes influence Japanese-American participation in the management of U.S. corporations, and that membership in "corporate communities" has…