Prof. Garcia | ENG 1121 - O427 | Spring 2021

Developing Research Questions

The social issue that I have decided to use for the Annotated Bibliography Project is xenophobia/prejudice toward Asians.

In my preliminary research, I learned that there are some deeply rooted causes that led to the rise of xenophobia/prejudice towards Asian. Dating back to history and to the present, some events that led to the rise of prejudice to Asians are the Chinese Exclusion Act, the smallpox epidemic in the 19th century and now the COVID pandemic. The Chinese Exclusion Act denied Asians from coming into the U.S. because they were taking away economic opportunities away from people. The smallpox epidemic in the 19th century and the COVID pandemic discriminated Asians because others believed that this pandemic stem from Asians, which not only brought harm to them but also ostracized them. They were seen as scapegoats who were blamed for most causes.

Questions that I have about my social justice issue:

  1. What are some prevalent factors that contribute to the rise of xenophobia towards Asians in the past and to the present?
  2. Why does society unfairly stereotype and discriminate against others?

1 Comment

  1. Ruth Garcia

    This is a good and timely topic, especially as (sadly) there has lately been a lot in the media about this topic, including today after what happened in Atlanta. Some thoughts I have are…
    1. make your second question specific to Asians or even a particular group of Asians.
    2. these two questions at the end of your post are still very broad and will be a start for searching but you will likely narrow down your focus and come up with a more specific questions.

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