Northwestern Asian American Studies Newsletter 2017–2018

a a s p i r e 2017 – 2018 ANNUAL NORTHWESTERN ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER

A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

DEAR ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES COMMUNITY, This has been an exciting year and I’m pleased to feature the work of the Latinx Asian American Collective in this year’s newsletter. The students in this collective have brought to the administration demands that, if granted, will solidify the status of our Program as the preeminent Asian American Studies Program in the Midwest. More critically, The Collective, working with other student activists including Black Lives Matter Northwestern, have motivated and personified the kinds of action we hope to embody during these tumultuous times. In addition to working with The Collective and alongside Frances Aparicio, the Director of Latina and Latino Studies, we are optimistic that our requests for hires, a larger budget, and a greater amount of autonomy will bolster our imprint on this campus.

This has been an rewarding year of collaboration, as well, with the Native Studies initiatives on campus. AASP hosted a year long Pacific Island Studies Series. Highlights include a week long student research trip to Hawai‘i, a student research symposium, and a faculty symposium. We hope to highlight our support for Pacific Island Studies at Northwestern University.

Last but not least, we have continued with our tradition of providing phenomenal teaching and mentoring to our students and are thrilled with their successes. We inaugurated Kafein Tuesdays, held faculty lectures, created a book club in collaboration with Multicultural Student Affairs, and hosted a number of events for our Majors and Minors. Congratulations to all our award winners and the majors and minors who have graduated this year! As always, we look forward to welcoming new faces in the fall and our ongoing collaboration and community building with the rest of you!

With deep gratitude to our departing and new colleagues from whom I have learned an enormous amount during my first year as Director. During my leave next year, Shalini Shankar will serve as interim Director, continuing on this collaboration and community building.

Best wishes for a wonderful summer!

Nitasha Sharma Director, Asian American Studies Program, Northwestern University

DEPARTMENTALIZE

NOW! IN FALL 2017, students from the Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC) and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlรกn de Northwestern (MEChA de NU) joined together to form the Latinx Asian American Collective (LAAC), a group dedicated to fighting for the departmentalization of the Asian American Studies and Latina/Latino Studies Programs. The Directors of Asian American Studies and Latina and Latino Studies have collaborated with this group during the year and presented our desires for program growth and autonomy in our hiring plans. To learn more about the Collective, visit this link.

LATINX ASIAN AMERICAN COLLECTIVE DEMANDS >> We demand that AASP and LLSP be granted everything

requested in their respective hiring plans. >> We demand that academic programs be granted the power to tenure

faculty as a short-term solution in the path to departmentalization. >> We demand the creation of an ethnic studies research institute. >> We demand the creation of a Latinx Studies Department and an Asian

american Studies Department with the sufficient funding, staff, facility, and other institutional resources for each to survive and thrive in a sustainable manner. >> We have reached this level of crisis due to the repeated failure of the

administration to listen to and take seriously the concerns of faculty, staff, and students within these programs. Therefore, we demand that University administration remain attentive and responsive to the wants and needs of the faculty, staff, and students within these units to ensure that both are continually supplied with necessary institutional support in the present and future.

We hereby condemn the University’s hypocritical co-optation of the Bursar Takeover Commemoration. Within two weeks, each demand must be clearly and definitively answered in writing with an indication as to whether the University will fulfill them. We conclude these demands with the promise that failure to comply and take immediate action in enacting them will result in continuous confrontation and direct action.

LEFT The Latinx Asian American Collective (LAAC) is a group of Northwestern students working towards the departmentalization of the Latino/a and Asian American ethnic studies programs at Northwestern University.

WHAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE TO SAY

#AASPTAUGHTME Being an Asian American Studies major has been a central component of my Northwestern experience, and the knowledge and experiences I have gained through the program have been undeniably formative. Through taking courses in AASP, I have been able to have my history and experiences validated in the classroom, an experience that is otherwise difficult for students of color to have in the whitewashed institution of academia. However, I would argue that having the opportunity to learn about myself and others within my racial group is not the most valuable knowledge I have gained from AASP. The most valuable thing AASP has taught me is how systems of oppression have operated both in history and in our modern-day. It has taught me forgotten legacies of racism and colonialism.

It has taught me that Asian American Studies, and ethnic studies in general, is not a field where students of color can cordon themselves off as a form of escapism, but is rather a field that positions the histories and experiences of Asian Americans and other people of color as essential to our understanding of the United States and beyond. Northwestern needs to understand that ethnic studies should not be thought of as a niche offshoot of the academy or a small concession to people of color. Ethnic studies is essential to our understanding of the world. – Jessica Wang

#AASPTAUGHTME #LLSPTAUGHTME The beauty and power in revolutionary movements and moments. They taught me the beauty in loving my people and learning to love myself. They taught me that my people are not just Mexicans or Latina/o/x, but my people expands much greater than identity politics. My people are those who are oppressed, who survive and thrive every day, who push systems, who put their bodies on the line for others, and who have great passion in bringing new imaginaries to life. – Erykah Nava

#LLSPTAUGHTME That even in a university built on and maintained through settler colonialism, white supremacy, and capitalism, there are people in this space working hard to foster radical, critical, and enlightening forms

of

thought,

knowledge,

and imagination; and that when I become disillusioned by the cognitive dissonance that arises between my radical imagination and simultaneous desire to engage in traditional higher education, there is a space that allows and encourages me to grapple with these conflicting ideals and shows me possibilities for reconciliation and constructive

action

between

and

through them. – Natalie Vega

PACIFIC ISLAND STUDIES NOW! THIS YEAR,

our Program hosted a

year-long series in Pacific Island Studies. We offered a course with a research trip to Hawai‘i, two research symposia, and several lectures highlighting the contributions of this field to both Native Studies and Ethnic Studies. Our Program will continue our contribution to these conversations in the future.

RIGHT Fall 2017 Student Symposium for ASAM 303, "Race and Indigeneity in the Pacific," co-taught

by Professors Hi‘ilei Hobart and Nitasha Sharma

BELOW ASAM 303, "Race and Indigeneity in the Pacific" trip to Hawai‘i

PACIFIC ISLAND STUDIES (CONT.)

BELOW Spring 2018 Symposium with invited Pacific Island Studies scholars From left to right: Nitasha Sharma, Hokulani Aikau, Christine DeLisle, Vince Diaz, and Bonnie Etherington.

ABOVE Winter 2018 Vernadette Gonzalez lecture, “A Decolonial Guidebook to Hawai‘i.”

MAJORS & MINORS OUTINGS

ABOVE In October, the Asian American Studies Program took its majors and minors to the Alphawood Gallery with Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Ji-Yeon Yuh, to see to see “Then They Came For Me,� an exhibit on Japanese internment during World War II. The gallery contained photographs of Japanese Americans during internment, historical documents, and artifacts including luggage brought to the internment camps.

The group watched a film on Japanese internment and was given a tour of the gallery.

BELOW February 2018, Lunar New Year dinner at Sun Wah restaurant where they feasted on Peking duck. Sun Wah was the winner of the 2018 James Beard award.

KAFEIN TUESDAYS IN OCTOBER, the Asian American Studies Program held small kickback sessions at Kafein, a local coffee shop. Professors Yuh and Sharma held the first hang, Professors Tse and Huang hosted the second, and Professors Ishii and Hobart were at the third. These unstructured gatherings allowed students to talk about everything and anything, from Ethnic Studies and Literature to family histories and everyday life. This was a big success and we plan to host them next year.

FACULTY TALKS AASP HOSTED

monthly lectures

featuring the current research of our faculty followed by a Q&A session and lunch.

Professor Doug Ishii kicked off the year with his talk on Mindy Kaling and middlebrow culture. Professor Justin Tse presented his research on Chinese Christians in civil society, and Professor Ji-Yeon Yuh offered the final lecture discussing her project on revolutionary Korean women in China and Japan from the 1930s to the 1970s.

ABOVE Professor Doug Ishii, February 1, 2018, "Mindy and Me: On Diversity and Other Middlebrow Desires"

RIGHT Professor Ji-Yeon Yuh, May 21, 2018, "Revolutionary Mothers and Nation-Builders: Korean Women in China and Japan, 1930s to 1970s"

LEFT Professor Justin Tse, April 26, 2018, "The Passions of HakShing William Tam: Fantasies of the Family in California’s Proposition 8"

GARY OKIHIRO In November, renowned Asian American historian Gary Okihiro (Columbia University) visited students in Professor Justin Tse’s courses on “Asian American History” and “Social Movements.” The dialogue centered on Prof. Okihiro’s two recent books, American History Unbound and Third World Studies. Students engaged Professor Okihiro, asking why he took such a strong moral stance of aligning with oppressed peoples and questioned what the future of Asian American studies might be.

STUDENT RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM IN JUNE,

graduating seniors Alicia Zheng,

Karen Adjei, and Henry Chen presented their senior projects in an undergraduate symposium. Professor Ji-Yeon Yuh presented on behalf of Preston Choi, who was unable to attend. Preston wrote a play titled "Yankee Princess," following the story of a young Korean adoptee growing up in the U.S.

RIGHT Henry Chen presented his senior thesis titled, “Memory and Masculinity in a South African Township,” and Karen Adjei discussed her senior thesis on “Japanese and Japanese American Women’s WWII Narratives.”

BELOW Honors awardee and Asian American Studies Major Alicia Zheng presented her senior immersion project on “Sansei Voices: Resettlement and Community in Chicago.”

ASSOCIATION FOR ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES RECEPTION NU-AASP CONTINUES

its tradition

of hosting a reception at the annual Association for Asian American Studies Conference. This year, the conference was held in San Francisco, where we were able to reunite with former colleagues, celebrate students’ successes, and come together as a joyful collective. Our AASP faculty are active members of this association and presented on numerous panels. We look forward to bringing students with us next year to the conference in Madison!

TOP Carolyn Chen, Ji-Yeon Yuh, Cheryl Jue, Michelle Huang, Nitasha Sharma, and Shalini Shankar at the AAAS reception.

LEFT Simeon Man, Shalini Shankar, Andrew Leong, and Doug Ishii at the AAAS reception

STUDENT AWARDS These awards honor and recognize outstanding students in Asian American Studies. Undergraduate students are formally nominated by faculty in the spring quarter and then approved by the Committee on Asian American Awards.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

is presented to graduating

seniors who excel in AAS coursework and foster initiatives and demonstrate leadership, both within the classroom and in co-curricular activities sponsored by the Asian American Studies Program.

DISTINGUISHED ESSAY is presented to students who have written the best essays on any topic related to Asian American studies.

GOOD CITIZENSHIP

is presented to students who actively and regularly

participate in activities sponsored by the Asian American studies program and honors their meaningful contribution towards community building.

ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY FELOWSHIP

awards

Asian American Studies Minors a $3000 to pursue an internship at a non-profit community organization that serves the Asian American community.

ALICIA ZHENG & KAREN ADJEI

SERI LEE AND JULIA SONG

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

ASIAN AMERICAN SUMMER COMMUNITY FELLOWSHIP

SERI LEE, ANNA DISTEFANO, APRIL NAVARRO, & KAREN ADJEI

LATINX ASIAN AMERICAN COLLECTIVE

DISTINGUISHED ESSAY

GOOD CITIZENSHIP

COLLOQUIUM ON ETHNICTY & DIASPORA: ENTANGLEMENTS COORDINATED BY

graduate students with the assistance

of faculty, the Colloquium on Ethnicity and Diaspora (CED) provides an interdisciplinary intellectual space for faculty, students, and interested parties to interrogate issues in transnational history, comparative race and ethnic studies, critical race theory, community formations, and citizenship.

CED showcases ethnic studies opportunities and scholarship on campus for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as, ‘faculty, and fosters a cross-discipline dialogue encouraging collaboration between various departments and programs. This year’s schedule comprised of two speakers and one panel discussion, and 3 book discussions, one per quarter. Each speaker and each book was chosen to address ethnicity in America, and/ or comparative studies in race, ethnicity, migration, and diaspora. This year’s CED on Entanglements was coordinated by Mishana Garschi (African American Studies) and Mlondi Zondi (Performance Studies).

CED DRAWS a large part of its budget from the Initiative for Comparative Race and Diaspora, and has also received additional funding from various department and organizations on campus including the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, The Graduate School, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Department of African American Studies, Program in Asian American Studies, Chabaraja Center for Historical Studies, and Department of History.

WORDS FROM OUR ALUMNI BORN AND RAISED

in North Carolina to immigrant

parents, I never thought critically about my Korean American identity until I was sitting in an Asian American literature course my freshman year at NU; it felt like a cliche awakening but it was overdue, essential, and swiftly shaped the focus and framework of my undergraduate research. Although I was an American Studies and English Literature major, I found an amazingly supportive, intellectually engaging, and socially conscious community in the Asian American Studies Program, and I am grateful for the professors and peers who made that experience so memorable.

I am currently the Pre-Production Manager at Duke University Press, reviewing and evaluating all of the artwork published in our books as well as coordinating interdepartmental workflows for the acquisitions team. In this behind-the-scenes role, I get to shepherd academic projects to one day become a book--some of which are written by beloved NU professors! I love disseminating knowledge in this way and hope that our books inspire other students and scholars to ask hard questions, grapple with uncomfortable topics, and resituate their perceptions of the world around them and embrace their voice and agency in that landscape.

– Christine Riggio

FAREWELLS We would like to thank the following colleagues for their fierce dedication to our program as Faculty, Affiliates, and Graduate Assistants.

Professors Doug Ishii, Umayyah Cable, and Andrew Leong: we wish you a warm farewell as you begin your new jobs!

Jonathan Magat, thank you for your service as Graduate Assistant to our Program this year—we loved learning more about your work.

FACULTY UPDATES MICHELLE HUANG Professor Michelle N. Huang has wrapped up her College Fellowship year (2017-2018) and is looking forward to teaching a seminar on Asian American counterarchives as well as the Asian American literature survey next year. She is finalizing a piece, “The Posthuman Subject in/of Asian American Literature� for the The Oxford Encyclopedia of Asian American and Pacific Islander Literature and Culture, and is also at work on her book manuscript project on posthumanism and Asian American racial formation. She is looking forward to continuing her work with the APIDA-Book-of-the-Quarter Club next year.

PATRICA NGUYEN We are delighted to welcome Patricia Nguyen as our Visiting Assistant Professor for the next two years. Patricia recently earned her PhD in Performance Studies at Northwestern University and is an expert in Asian American Performance and Critical Refugee Studies. She will teach courses on Refugee Aesthetics, Food in Chicago, and our Introduction to Asian American Studies course.

Y THIEN NGUYEN Y Thien Nguyen will be our Graduate Assistant for the 20182019 school year. He is a fifth year graduate student in the Sociology Department and conducts transnational research on Vietnamese in Vietnam and the U.S. We look forward to working with Y and learning more about his research.

SHALINI SHANKAR Shalini Shankar spent the past year on research leave supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship and will be returning as Interim Director of the Asian American Studies Program in 2018-2019. She is completing her third book Beeline: What Spelling Bees Reveal about Generation Z’s New Path to Success (Basic Books, 2019). Professor Shankar is also conducting research for a new project exploring American generations, immigration, and race. Her co-edited volume with Jillian Cavanaugh, Language and Materiality: Theoretical and Ethnographic Explorations, was published in 2017 by Cambridge Press.

NITASHA SHARMA Professor Nitasha Sharma finished her first year as Director of the Program and she will be on leave for the 2018-2019 academic year. Her co-edited volume, Beyond Paradise: New Politics of Race in Hawai’i was published this year by the University of Hawai‘i Press and she earned the Provost’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Equity. Next year, Professor Sharma will be finishing her second book, Hawai‘i is my Haven: Race and Indigeneity in the Black Pacific with Duke University Press.

JUSTIN TSE Justin Tse is coming back to Northwestern for his third year as Visiting Assistant Professor in our program. Over the summer, William Paik will be working with him to conduct his independent research in Berkeley on student activism and psychoanalysis with an Undergraduate Research Grant, and William Kang will be doing an Undergraduate Research Assistant Program with him on religious freedom court cases in the Pacific Rim region. Professor Tse will be teaching an array of courses in 2018-2019, from Asian American History to Global Chinatowns.

SUPPORT ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES WE NEED YOU! Your donations allow us to create community-based learning and enrichment opportunities for our students and host events that enlighten the broader Northwestern community.

Please give what you can – your contribution matters!

Click here to support the Program with a donation or visit our website at asianamerican.northwestern. edu.

aasp

Asian American Studies Program

Asian American Studies Program Check out our website: www.asianamerican.northwestern.edu Reach out to us through email: asianamerican@northwestern.edu And LIKE us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/AsianAmericanNorthwestern