Nature Unfurled

In commemoration of Earth Day, this week’s review spotlights Asian American environmental history and examines how Asian Americans confronted restrictions on who belongs in nature.

Posted on April 21, 2025 in Reviews of the Month

Nature Unfurled: Asian American Environmental Histories

ed. by Connie Y. Chiang Washington, 2024
290p bibl index, 9780295753171 $110.00, 9780295753171 $30.00, 9780295753188

Through this collection of essays, Chiang (Bowdoin College) and other scholars examine the intersections of Asian American and environmental history from the late 19th to the early 21st century. Essay topics include environmental health in San Francisco’s Chinatown, environmental justice and Japanese Americans’ campaign for redress, Southeast Asian refugee community gardens, the Filipinx diaspora and environmental history, and contemporary Asian American outdoor recreation. Asian Americans have been laborers, gardeners, immigrants, activists, and artists, having endured relationships with nature, places, and other people amid racism and white supremacy. White people’s perceptions of Asian Americans as the perpetual foreigner, Yellow Peril, and model minority have intersected with Asian Americans’ environmental activities. Nevertheless, Asian Americans have managed to utilize environmental resources to their advantage while challenging assumptions of who is allowed to enjoy the outdoors and take part in outdoor activities. This collection emphasizes the importance of Asian American environmental history and its impact on the outdoors today. Some historical and contemporary black-and-white photographs are included.

Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.
Reviewer: T. Chan, MIT Libraries
Interdisciplinary Subjects: Asian and Asian American Studies, Environmental Studies, Racial Justice
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences – History, Geography & Area Studies – North America
Choice Issue: Jun 2025

---

Enjoy this week’s review? Check out more reviews of related titles:

• Resistance and its Discontents in South Asian Women’s Fiction
• Making the MexiRican City: Migration, Placemaking, and Activism in Grand Rapids, Michigan
• The Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century
• Refusing Death: Immigrant Women and the Fight for Environmental Justice in LA
• Negotiating Climate Change in Crisis

Related Posts