Asian American Folklore: Disciplinary Fissions and Fusions

This guest editors' introduction to Amerasia Journal's first issue devoted to Asian American Folklore provides an overview of the connections between Asian American Studies and folklore studies. Jonathan H. X. Lee and Kathleen Nadeau trace the way both disciplines have developed over time as academic institutions at risk in the current restructuring of the university. By understanding how Asian American Studies and folklore studies interact, Lee and Nadeau point out how the objects of studies for both fields are often overlooked in accounts of “official” history and culture. They discuss the rationale for studying a distinctly Asian American folklore with its roots in Asian America.