For the Project Muse site, the main focus is presenting an electronic version of The Changs Next Door to the Diazes. In her writing, Cheng goes against normative understandings of suburban life as exclusively white, middle/upper-class enclaves by describing the multiracial hierarchies and lived experiences of ethnic groups living in the West San Gabriel Valley (SGV), a region of the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area with substantial Asian and Latina/o populations. Drawing from cultural geography and critical ethnographic studies, she suggests that everyday landscapes in the SGV are “crucial terrains through which racial hierarchies are learned, instantiated, and transformed.” To accomplish this goal, Cheng develops a theory of regional racial formation that permits focus on more dynamic local everyday actions, and the ability to dialectically toggle between macro ideologies and the local microcosm of quotidian life. The rest of her book provides ethnographic accounts of various West SGV residents and communities to delineate three points: the “development of an emergent ‘non-white’ identity rooted in middle-class and suburban contexts; the intertwined relationship of race, property, homeownership, and privilege; and the essential role of institutions of civil society in reconciling regional epistemes and practices with national ideologies.” I am in strong accordance with Cheng’s assertion that suburbs are locales whose regional characteristics afford important insight on racial formations for multiple ethnic groups. Moreover, I find her situating of everyday practice—and its subsequent excavation through ethnographic work—a necessary turn for scholarship at large. Although I discuss her observations of Asian and Latina/o identity in more detail here, I find her work’s interdisciplinary rigor and commitment to critical depiction very refreshing. As an EBook, Cheng’s book is very accessible with a host of features that facilitate easy access. On the site’s homepage, each book section is prefaced with a short summary, page count, and link for download via PDF. In addition, the site placed with book within specific research sites and subject headings, which, coupled with a related content section, provides a holistic user experience.

For the “Intersections in American Life” blog, the exhibit’s two organizers, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Smithsonian Latino Center, sought to explore the connections between Asian and Latina/os cultures. Held in August of 2013, activities included from public performances, “pop-up art galleries, social media campaigns, and a convening of top scholars, artists, activists, and writers. The site’s three foci—foodways, art, and convening—explain in detail the multiple events organized for each theme. For Foodways, their “Gourmet Intersections: Asian-Latino Food Crossings” event seeks to illuminate the longer history of fusion between Asian and Latina/o culinary traditions with a panel discussion on food cultures past and present. To represent public art’s ability to present “a lasting visual record of Asian-Latino connections,” as well “reimagining the shapes and boundaries of cultures and cities alike”, curators Eric Nakamura, Shizu Saldamando, and Adriel Luis constructed pop-up museums in two locations in Silver Spring, MD. For the convening, the “thought intersections” event recognizes growing discussion of Asian/Latino cultural intersections in the works of academics, writers, artists, and organizers, and organized a two-day meeting for these individuals to discuss the field at large. All together, I found the site’s information to be a necessary multi-faceted approach to understanding Asian/Latino cultural intersections. The mix of events, from performances to plenary discussions, engaged a diverse array of people with investments in exploring this relationship. As a blog, the site’s medium made good use of visual aids to actively engage viewers familiar with Tumblr and other websites. The repetition of font size and style, photos of exhibit contributors, and consistent color scheme all add to an enjoyable user experience. While I discuss in more detail their conceptualization of Asian/Latino fusion here, the act of place-making intrinsic to the site makes it an apt interlocutor in available scholarship.