Asia in Northfield: Stories of Asian American Experience
Northfield’s time-honored histories are peopled by European settlers and immigrants; a lesser-known chapter comes from Asian Americans. The current Asian population has grown to 3.5%. With the diversification of both colleges, the number of faculty members and students of Asian origins or heritage has also increased notably over the years. Who are they? What are their stories? Why did they settle in Northfield? How did they face the issues of assimilation, stereotype, and discrimination while keeping their own cultures, traditions, and identities? What does it mean to live the “American dream” in Northfield?
As the new focus of cultural and ethnographic studies highlights the nature of “locality” and “lived experience,” this interdisciplinary project Asia in Northfield puts forward faculty-student collaboration on collecting, documenting, and analyzing the Asian American experience in this Midwest town.