What is the HAAA? A Nine-Year Retrospective

Abstract

This article discusses the Houston Asian American Archive (HAAA) in the context of recent scholarly writing on immigration. What does this literature tell us about the global patterns and processes of immigration, past and present, and how does it relate to the specific historical conditions under which Asian people have immigrated to the United States over time and across space? In particular, what have been the experiences of Asian immigrants who found their way to Houston during the past century or so, and how do the lives of these individuals (and often those of their families) fit into the larger picture of Asian migration? The HAAA project has had, and will continue to have, an important role to play in documenting and interpreting this complex process: first, by acquiring historical materials of all sorts––including personal correspondence, official and unofficial documents, family records, newspaper accounts and photographs––and making it available online to both scholars and the general public; and second, by conducting in-depth personal interviews, which are then made available as videotapes and audiotapes and/or carefully edited transcripts. As many as a dozen student interns are working on these materials at any given time, giving their labor to the project, but taking away a wealth of knowledge and experience into the bargain. In short, the HAAA project promotes cutting-edge academic research, encourages creative learning of all sorts, and helps in the development of productive relationships between Rice University and the Asian American community of greater Houston.