A Model Minority? The Misrepresentation and Underrepresentation of Asian Pacific Americans in Introductory American Government Textbooks

ABSTRACTAsian Pacific Americans are a racial group that is often viewed in stereotypes, most notably, as a “model minority”—a view that this group is naturally hardworking and successful unlike “other” racial and ethnic groups. Quite often, they are also neglected as U.S. citizens, whose presence and influence in American politics are not acknowledged. This study of 28 college-level introductory American government textbooks investigates the extent to which and the ways in which Asian Pacific Americans are misrepresented and underrepresented. The findings show that many textbooks reproduce the model-minority stereotype of Asian Pacific Americans despite criticisms from scholars in Asian American Studies, although some textbooks caution against depicting them in this stereotype. In addition, this analysis reveals that textbooks fail to include important and appropriate information on Asian Pacific Americans and contain many questionable statements regarding historical facts about them. The study concludes ...