They Call Us Bruce 235: They Call Us Asian American Studies

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.

What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome Pawan Dhingra, associate provost and associate dean of the faculty at Amherst College and current president of the Association for Asian American Studies. He talks about the newly minted AAPI Studies program at Amherst -- the first of its kind for liberal arts colleges -- what's behind the seemingly sudden surge of interest in Asian American Studies, and how the field still needs to grow and expand. Pawan also talks a bit about Kumon, the South Asian stranglehold on the spelling bee, and his incredibly titled book Hyper Education: Why Good Schools, Good Grades, and Good Behavior Are Not Enough.

Racist Airbnb host ordered to take Asian American studies

Tami Barker canceled Dyne Suh's Airbnb reservation because she is Asian. Now she'll pay.



Remember the racist Airbnb host who canceled a guest's reservation because the woman was Asian? She has been ordered to pay $5,000 in damages and take a course in Asian American studies.

Airbnb host who canceled reservation using racist comment must pay $5,000

In February, Dyne Suh was en route to a ski vacation with friends in Big Bear, California, where she had reserved a cabin through Airbnb. But when she messaged the host, Tami Barker, to confirm the reservation, Barker abruptly refused to rent it to Suh. And she made her reasons pretty clear.

"I wouldn't rent it to u if u were the last person on earth," Barker texted. "One word says it all. Asian."

When Suh said she'd complain to Airbnb about the racist remark, Barker replied, "It's why we have Trump... and I will not allow this country to be told what to do by foreigners."

What? You think Trump in the White House gets you a do-racist-shit-for-free card? Nope.

900+ Asian American Studies Scholars Issue Collective Statement Decrying Trump’s Proposed Muslim Registry

By Jenn Fang. Cross-Posted from Reappropriate



Over 900 Asian American Studies scholars from across the United States issued a joint statement today decrying President-Elect Donald Trump’s proposal to create a national registry of Muslims and Muslim Americans.

Trump has repeatedly said that as president he would institute aggressive measures to limit immigration of Muslims into the country and to place Muslims currently within the United States’ borders under close scrutiny. He has promised to halt the entry of Syrian refugees and to also ban immigration from a number of countries -- including Pakistan and the Philippines -- with large Muslim populations. He is quoted as suggesting the creation of a national database of Muslim and Muslim Americans -- a proposal that is likely unconstitutional -- and he staffed his White House transition team with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the architect of the highly controversial NSEERS registry system which was used to monitor the movement of Muslim immigrants under George W. Bush and the first half of the Obama administration.

Earlier this month, Trump surrogate Carl Higbie went on Fox News to defend Trump’s alarming proposals to register Muslims and Muslims Americans. In an appearance on The Kelly File, Higbie suggested that Trump’s proposal for a national Muslim registry has legal precedent: Japanese American incarceration during World War II (for a note on language, see JACL’s Power of Words handbook).

It should come as no surprise that Asian American Studies scholars have something to say about that dubious line of reasoning.

We're Dropping Hints that We Need an Asian American Studies Major

Guest Post by CRAASH

Instagram: @HunterCRAASH

No, but seriously.

Memes aside, the fight for Asian American Studies (AAS) has recently seen an enormous wave of momentum. In this year alone, we have witnessed the huge victory for an AAS major at Northwestern University, the establishment of an Asian and Pacific Islander American Studies Program at the College of William and Mary, the passing of a resolution for the creation of an AAS major through the Student Assembly at Cornell University, the ongoing work by the Task Force on Asian and Pacific American Studies at Harvard University, and more. We even had an awesome Google Hangout on the #Fight4AAS with student groups at Northwestern, Cornell, and Hunter College, 18 Million Rising, and Professor Vijay Prashad! We might even dare to say that we are smack dab in the middle of a new period of the student movement for Asian American Studies.

Where Are We Now in the #Fight4AAS?

Join 18 Million Rising's Google Hangout on Monday, May 9.



Where are we now in the fight for Asian American Studies? 18 Million Rising invites you to join them for a Google Hangout with some awesome Asian American student activists from Northwestern, CUNY Hunter, and Cornell, who will talk about their work organizing for Asian American Studies programs at their campuses.

Join the conversation on Monday, May 9 at 3:00-4:00pm ET. Here are some more details:

Pioneering Asian American scholar Don T. Nakanishi dies

Former UCLA professor was widely recognized as one of the forefathers of Asian American Studies.



A legendary scholar and leader has passed. Professor Don T. Nakanishi, Director Emeritus of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and a pioneer in the field of Asian American Studies, has died. He was 66.

Professor Nakanishi was the Director Emeritus of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, the largest and most renowned research and teaching institute in Asian American Studies in the nation, and Professor Emeritus of UCLA's departments of Asian American Studies and education.

A trailblazing educator, beloved community leader and mentor to generations of scholars and activists, he was considered one of the forefathers of Asian American Studies as an academic discipline.

Professor Nakanishi passed away Monday afternoon in Los Angeles. His family shared the news via Facebook:

Asian American Studies Strikes Back!

Wednesday, May 6 at Northwestern University's Hardin Hall



In 1995, student activists at Northwestern University organized a hunger strike to pressure the administration to establish an Asian American Studies program. The hunger strike lasted 23 days, not only raising awareness and support from Northwestern students, but also from campuses around the country. Four years later, in 1999, the Asian American Studies Program was introduced as a minor in the College of Arts and Sciences.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the hunger strike at Northwestern. Next week, Asian American Studies is holding an event, Asian American Studies Strikes Back! in celebration of the student protest that led to the establishment of the program. It's happening Wednesday, May 6 at Northwestern's Hardin Hall.

Here are some more details about the event:

Asian Americans in New York: Film & Literature

A Summer Seminar for K-12 Educators, July 5-17

Hey, teachers! What are you doing this summer? Here's an awesome opportunity. The Asian American Studies at Hunter College, CUNY invites K-12 school teachers to apply for "Asian Americans in New York: Film & Literature," a two-week interdisciplinary summer seminar with a twenty-first century perspective on Asian American cultural production and communities in New York City. It's happening July 5-17, 2015.

Co-directed by Jennifer Hayashida and Chi-hui Yang, the program is hoping to draw a diverse group of educators from around the country, particularly from states with emerging Asian American populations, who are seeking more tools and resources to teach Asian American culture and politics.

Here are some more details about the seminar: