Friday, May 16, 2008

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

The month of May marks the celebration for Asian Pacific American Heritage (APA) month. The term “Asian” includes Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Southeast Asian, and other interethnic groups of Asian descent. The Magazines & Newspapers Center houses a selection of titles focusing on APA pop culture and lifestyles. From anime, film, and book reviews to fashion design, social, cultural, and political issues, APA culture plays a prominent role in American mainstream media. Periodicals like AsianWeek, Audrey, Filipinas, Giant Robot, and Hyphen capture the uniqueness of contemporary Asian Pacific American pop culture, lifestyles, news, and politics:

AsianWeek - This weekly newspaper covers news, politics, social issues, people, and the arts in the Asian Pacific American community. Articles include local, national, and international coverage, opinion pieces, profiles and interviews with Asian Americans, arts and entertainment listings, classifieds, and more. Based in San Francisco, AsianWeek is "the oldest and largest English language newspaper serving the Asian/Pacific Islander American community."

Audrey – Written specifically for Asian American women, Audrey features entertaining and informative articles on designers, fashion, beauty trends, relationships, home décor, women’s health issues, and more. Each issue contains glossy photos, Asian celebrity interviews, and news/gossip – all from a uniquely Asian/Asian American perspective.

Filipinas – A nationally-circulating monthly magazine written for “Filipinos worldwide,” Filipinas covers Philippine history, culture, community issues, personalities, travel and business, food, and more. This magazine serves as “a venue where Filipino Americans can shed their collective invisibility in mainstream America and finally be recognized.”

Giant Robot – A hip magazine highlighting various aspects of Asian and Asian American pop culture, Giant Robot includes interviews, feature stories, news, hobbies, art, music, travel, television, and more. "Paving the way for less knowledgeable media outlets, Giant Robot put the spotlight on Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li years before they were in mainstream America's vocabulary.”

Hyphen – A San Francisco-based magazine for the “culturally and politically savvy,” Hyphen explores Asian American news and culture, including investigative features, profiles of Asian American leaders, politics and commentary. “Built around a clarity of image, word and social awareness, Hyphen takes form from the artists, thinkers and creators who are shaping a new multiethnic generation.”

Last but not least, many other ethnic-related titles from the alternative and ethnic presses are featured in the Ethnic NewsWatch database which can be found on our “Articles and Databases” page. You will need a library card to access this database from outside the library.

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