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THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN ISSUE #7, SUMMER 2014 RED THREADS Bound #2 Artwork by Associate Professor Beili Liu Newsletter for the Center for Asian American Studies “An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of place or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break.” –Chinese Proverb Ainee Athar leading the Undocu-Asian Teach-In on October 17, 2013 2 Message from the By Nicholas Chan Director Undocu-Asian: Unapologetic and Unafraid The Undocu-Asian movement affects over 1.4 million undocumented Asian, Ainee Athar, a recent graduate of 6 individuals making up 12% of the U.S Asian population. the university, led the campaign for the week of events Faculty & Staff Notes The Center for Asian American Studies helped spearhead and facilitated the main Undocu-Asian teach-in. During that movement on the UT campus. Student activists the teach-in, Athar shared multiple videos and stories 8 worked with several campus organizations like the of undocumented Asians and their struggle to simply B.A. Students Profiles Multicultural Engagement Center and the University survive because being undocumented deprives them of Leadership Initiative to organize Undocumented Longhorns simple resources and services others take for granted. 10 Week. The weeklong series of events featured panels, Undocumented college students can’t apply for federal CAAS Speakers & discussions, teach-ins about the immigration reform aid or scholarships, vote or have a say in government, Events movement, and a talk from undocumented Filipino and can’t work because they don’t have a nine-digit social American journalist Jose Antonio Vargas. security number. Nor can they apply for a driver’s license 11 simply to drive to school or work. Alumni Notes Highlighting her personal experiences as an (cont. on P. 4) 1 www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/aas THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN ISSUE #7, SUMMER 2014 Message from the Outgoing Director CAAS has benefited from partnerships with many of the outstanding academic programs on campus. A shortlist of highlights includes the 2007 conference “Asia in Latin America: Across Four Continents” with the Lozano Long Institute for Latin American Studies; the 2009 conference “American Crossroads: Migration, Communities, & Race” with the Warfield Center, Center for Mexican American Studies, and the Donald D. Harrington Fellows Program; over 2009-2010 “Lectures in Art and Diaspora: Asian in the Americas” with the Department of Art + Art History: Lectures in the Black Diaspora; the 2010 Association for Asian American Studies annual conference; and the 2013 conference “TransPacific China in the Cold War” with the Institute for Historical Studies. For many of these programs, CAAS has worked regularly with the relevant departments and the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, the College of Liberal Arts, South Asia Institute, Center for East Asian Studies, and the Humanities Institute. Dear Friends and Supporters of CAAS, Between 2007 and 2014, over thirty majors have graduated in Asian American Studies (AAS). In addition I wind down my 8-years as director of CAAS with to the AAS major, minor, and honors program, CAAS great pride and some regrets. As with any institutional has added a graduate portfolio program (2014) and initiative begun with great hope and potential, much developed an Advisory Committee to help fundraise and can be accomplished even as many goals remain as advocate for CAAS. I would like to thank our inaugural yet unfulfilled. Building on the brave struggles and members: the Honorable Martha J. Wong who has commitment of my predecessors, Art Sakamoto, endowed our first scholarship fund, Richard Jung, Ali Rowena Fong, and Mia Carter, solid foundations have Khataw, Channy Soeur, Lesley Varghese, and Gene Wu been laid for the continued growth and expansion of for undertaking the cause of Asian American studies in Asian American Studies in Texas and after all, the Texas. Last but far from least, I want to commend the 14 years of CAAS’s existence are brief compared Sharmila Rudrappa work of the wonderful staff without whom CAAS would to the more than 4 decades over which the African Ph.D. | Director have long fallen to pieces: Barbara Jann, Kenyatta American and Mexican American studies programs [email protected] Dawson, and Sona Shah. 512.232.9469 have evolved into departments. We can but look to a better and brighter future in years Sona A. Shah During my tenure, CAAS has grown to include 12 core to come—I wish my successor Sharmila Rudrappa the M.A. | Assistant Director faculty, including new assistant professor North Cooc best of luck! [email protected] in the Department of Special Education. The breadth 512.232.9468 and depth of our community contacts has expanded Thank you for your continuing interest and support! and now sustains working relationships between UT Sincerely, Center for Asian and organizations such as the Austin History Center, American Studies the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation, Office: Burdine Hall the Network of Asian American Organizations, the (BUR) 480 Asian Pacific American Heritage Association, the Mailing Address: 2505 University Avenue, Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce, Asian Stop A2200 Family Support Services of Austin, Texas Exes Asian American Network, Austin Asian American Film Austin, TX 78712 Madeline Y. Hsu Email: aasinfo@utlists. Festival, and the Asian American Resource Center. Associate Professor, Department of History utexas.edu Through these collaborations, CAAS pursues its Phone: 512.232.6427 ethnic studies mission of fostering awareness and Fax: 512.232.7136 experience of community issues and needs among www.utexas.edu/cola/center/aas our students. 2 THE CENTER FOR ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN ISSUE #7, SUMMER 2014 Message from the Incoming Director Core Faculty projects that are meaningful and significant to our communities. The larger goal is to identify and research North Cooc the issues that face us as Asian Americans in Texas, and Assistant Professor of to offer solutions in partnership with the city and state. Education Rowena Fong Under my directorship I want to continue to build on what Professor of Social Work Dr. Madeline Hsu has accomplished, and grow our Center for Asian American Studies into a vibrant academic Heather Hindman institute. And in that process I want to foster closer Associate Professor of relations between town and gown, and to that end I hope Asian Studies you will all join me. Madeline Y. Hsu Associate Professor of I look forward to working with all of you over the next four History years. Thank you for this opportunity. S. Akbar Hyder Associate Professor of Sincerely, Asian Studies Madhavi Mallapragada Assistant Professor of Radio-Television-Film Robert M. Oppenheim I am honored to serve as director of the Center for Asian Sharmila Rudrappa Associate Professor of American Studies beginning Fall 2014. From having arrived Director, Center for Asian American Studies Anthropology on campus just when the program was taking its first baby Associate Professor, Department of Sociology steps back in 2001 with just assistant professors John Sharmila Rudrappa Associate Professor of Park, Jim Lee, and Kim Alidio under the directorship of Sociology professor Mia Carter, we have come a long way indeed. Today we have 12 core faculty from fields as diverse as Snehal Shingavi Social Work, Communication, Asian Studies, History, Assistant Professor of English, Anthropology, and Sociology. In addition, Dr. English North Cooc from Harvard University will begin teaching Nancy K. Stalker with us and the Department of Special Education at Associate Professor of the assistant rank beginning this fall. And, Dr. Kareem Asian Studies Khubchandani, dance scholar from Performance Studies in Northwestern University joins us, and the Center for Cynthia Talbot Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies as a post-doc for the next two History years. Eric Tang Though we have grown in the past 15 years we have a Assistant Professor of significant amount of work to accomplish at the Center in African and African Diaspora Studies the next four years. The number of majors in the College of WHO WE ARE — Founded in 2000, The Center Liberal Arts has dipped, as have liberal arts majors around for Asian American Studies (CAAS) at The Kamala Visweswaran the country, a national trend precipitated by the state of University of Texas at Austin is an interdisciplinary Associate Professor of the economy. This drop in COLA majors has affected the academic program promoting understanding Anthropology Center for Asian American Studies too, and we need to and awareness of Asian Pacific American (APA) shore up our numbers. To that end the faculty at the Center issues and communities. We house undergraduate are working toward revamping the major to meet the major, minor, and honors programs and organize demands of the current workplace and the economy. lectures, films, conferences, speakers’ series, discussion forums, and collaborate partnerships In the next four years my aim is to move the Center’s with community and campus organizations. CAAS academic program more toward a research seeks to develop and highlight transnational and model in partnership with Asian American communities. hemispheric perspectives and narratives of Asians I hope to direct our graduate students, who will work in in the Americas and the American South. teams with undergraduate students, to develop research THE CENTER FOR ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES 3 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN ISSUE #7, SUMMER 2014 Undocu-Asian: Unapologetic and Unafraid (cont. from P. 1) With over 400 undocumented students on Council (ALEC) to pass legislation the UT campus, the story line seems to be to disproportionately criminalize offenders to the same. “Helpless, powerless, an extreme make a profit whenever someone is thrown into injustice creating broken families,” were just prison. ALEC is the same group that created the a few words that reverberated throughout the Stand Your Ground law underlying the Trayvon A Message from New AAS Core stories shared.