How far have we come? Asian Pacific Americans in introductory American government textbooks in three different time periods

ABSTRACTThis study examines whether different editions of college introductory American government/politics textbooks have increased coverage of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) over time. Using content analysis, I analyze the percentage of coverage of APAs in the same textbooks’ editions published during 1998−1999, 2005−2006, and 2011−2012. I find that the coverage of APAs has increased gradually, although its magnitude is not very large. Mentions of APAs are found most often on the chapters of civil rights, demography/political culture, public opinion, and elections/voting/participation. Textbooks vary as to how they raised or dropped ranks of coverage compared to the previous period. Some textbooks created a new section to discuss APA history. One textbook used the Korematsu case in one period but discontinued it in a later edition. These analyses show that if textbook authors have a will to do so, they can increase coverage of APAs. Indeed, McClain and Tauber’s introductory textbook (2017) discusses in ...