Areas of Study

Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies

 

The Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies Program (AAADS) is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of historical and contemporary experiences of Americans of Asian ancestry, and the framing of this knowledge and critical understanding within local, national, and global contexts. Tracing its genealogy to the Third World Strike and the formation of the field of Ethnic Studies in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Asian American Studies program initially centered on domestic U.S. concerns regarding the political, economic, and cultural challenges confronting people of Asian descent and their struggles for inclusion and advancement in U.S. society. While retaining its original commitment to community empowerment through socially engaged research, teaching, and service, the program has broadened its scope to encompass issues of transnationality and diaspora in response to geopolitical and demographic shifts.

Reflecting the collective strengths of our faculty, our curriculum offers students a deeper understanding of the histories and contemporary realities of the different ethnic groups that comprise the “Asian American” category. Through classroom-based and experiential learning, our students engage with critical issues such as labor, migration, health, representation and cultural production, education, religion, class, gender, generation, law, public policy, and social activism.

 

*For more information about and to donate to the AAADS 50th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign click here

 

Faculty in Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies

Catherine Ceniza Choy, Professor
Adoption; Asian American History; Gender; Migration; Nursing; Philippine and Filipino American Studies
Carolyn Chen, Professor
Ethnicity; Immigration; Race; Religion
Vernadette Vicuña Gonzalez, Professor
Asian American literary and cultural studies; Cultures of US Imperialism; Gender and sexuality; Philippine and Filipino American Studies; Transnational American Studies
Long Le-Khac, Assistant Professor
Lok Siu, Professor
Chinese Diaspora; Cultural Citizenship; Cultural Politics of Food; Diaspora / Transnationalism; Asians in the Americas; Ethnography
Khatharya Um, Associate Dean | Associate Professor |
access and education of racialized minorities in American public schools; and citizenship; and culture; and mobility; API Educational Issues; Asian American History; Asian American Studies; Colonialism and Post-Colonial Studies; Community Studies; conflict and post conflict studies and genocide studies; Cultural Citizenship; Cultures of US Imperialism; Diaspora Studies; Education; Ethnic Studies; Ethnographic and Historical Methods; Ethnography; Gender & generation, transnational migration in Asia; gender and class and their intersections in relation to immigration; globalization; Governmentality; history; History (Asian American; History (Asian American, Chinese American), Contemporary Community Issues; Human Rights; Immigrant writing and film; Immigration; International Migration; Migration; Migrations; Nation; Political/Social/Ethnic Conflict; post-colonial; Post-colonial Studies; Poverty; Race and Ethnic Relations; Racial/Ethnic Politics; refugee migration; Social and Revolutionary Movements; Social movements; Southeast Asian and Southeast Asian American Studies; southeast-asian-and-southeast-asian-american-studies-refugee-migration-transnational-and-diaspora-studies-post-colonial-conflict-and-post-conflict-studies-and-genocide-studies-access-and-educatio; transnational and diaspora studies; transnational migration in Asia; Transnationalism
Michael Omi, Professor Emeritus
Comparative Racialization; Racial Theory and Politics; Racial/Ethnic Classification and Identity
Hatem Bazian, Continuing Lecturer
Arab and Arab American Studies; Colonialism and Post-Colonial Studies; Comparative Liberation Theologies; Critical Race Theory; Muslim American Studies; Palestine Studies
Michael Chang, Lecturer
Administrative law; and culture; Asian American Studies; Civil rights; Critical Race Theory; Diaspora Studies; Education Law; Ethnic Studies; Law; Post-colonial Studies; Race
Harvey Dong, Continuing Lecturer
Chinese American); Contemporary Community Issues; History (Asian American
Joe Lee, Lecturer
Hannah Michell, Lecturer
Fae Myenne Ng, Continuing Lecturer
Winston Tseng, Lecturer
Lisa Hirai Tsuchitani, Continuing Lecturer
API Educational Issues; Japanese American History