Viewing current Asian American racial formation in relation to international cultures and global geography, the essays in New Formations, New Questions break new ground in Asian American studies. This special issue of positions confronts questions of what it is to be Asian and how that differs from being Asian American. It exposes many challenges Asian Americans face in defining their niche in this country as it makes some acute, if not disturbing, observations of what it means to be American.

In one essay, the status of Asians born in America both before and after the...