Oriental Bodies: Discourse and Discipline in U.S. Immigration Policy, 1875-1942

(Paperback)

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Oriental Bodies charts the discursive transformations of U.S. immigration policy between 1875 and 1942. Author James Tyner concentrates on the confluence of eugenics, geopolitics, and Orientalism as these intersect in the debates surrounding the exclusion of immigrants from China, Japan, and the Philippines. This unique work argues that United States immigration policy was founded on a particular discourse of eugenics and geopolitics and that this concentration was informed by a greater Orientalist discourse. Drawing from American foreign policy, identity politics, post-structuralism, post-colonialism, and feminist theory, this fascinating study seeks to examine the construction of "Oriental bodies" within the emergence of U.S. immigration policy and explores how these constructions served political, social, and economic interests.

Reviews

In a thorough examination of the intertwining of eugenics, geopolitics, and Orientalist discourse, James Tyner's Oriental Bodies analyzes the impacts of U.S. immigration and foreign policies and the exclusion of Asian immigrants, ranging from individual bodies and communities, to national and international scales. It connects the historical exclusion of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino immigrants to the contemporary situation of Central America and Post-9/11 America. The book is an important addition to social science scholarship and geographical analysis on immigration, ethnicity, race, class, gender, and nation state building. -- Wei Li, Arizona State University
In this crisp narrative of the evolution of U.S. actions against Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants, James Tyner confirms his reputation as a leading scholar in geography and gender, and provides a timely reminder of the perils and pitfalls of post-9/11 patriotism. -- Michael Dear, University of California, Berkeley

Author Bio

James A. Tyner is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at Kent State University.