Sylvia Chong (Associate Professor of American Studies, University of Virginia)

April 2, 2015

Coined by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany in 1895, the term “yellow peril” has come to describe the racial threat posed to the West by the rising powers of the Far East, specifically China and Japan. In the U.S., the yellow peril has been used to describe not only military encounters in Asia but also the growth of Asian American immigration, threatening the nation from within. This webinar will explore the history of Asian America through the lens of the yellow peril, situating popular representations of these racial panics within the context of historical events and trends in immigration law, foreign affairs, and domestic politics.

Subjects

Film and Media / History / Immigration / American History / Asian Americans / Racial Discrimination /