Andrew Chin Andrew Chin

Andrew Chin
   
 
 
     
Overview
The Early Movement
Successes Elsewhere
Progress and Obstacles at UNC
Web Resources
 
Overview
The UNC Asian American Studies Workgroup was a task force consisting of students, faculty, staff, and alumni from UNC and Duke who were interested in expanding the offering of Asian American Studies courses at UNC-Chapel Hill.  While these efforts have so far been unsuccessful,

This page is maintained in the hope that a critical mass of student and faculty leaders will eventually emerge with an interest in bringing the Workgroup's aspirations to fruition.

 
The Early Movement
When Dr. Gang Yue came to teach in the Curriculum in Asian Studies in Fall 1993, there wasn't a single course on Asian American Studies offered at the University. Though Gang's primary duties were to teach Chinese and Chinese literature/culture, he took the initiative to develop a new course in Asian American Literature (Asia 82), in part at the urge of the Asian Students Association and its president, David Liu. The course was first offered in Fall 1995. Under the leadership of Dr. Judith Farquhar, Chair of Asian Studies at the time, Asian Studies secured a small grant in 1996 for a new course in Asian American Studies and began to offer Asian American Experience (Asia 89) in Spring 1997.

These piecemeal efforts were significant as the first step in the right direction. But Asian Studies was a small and understaffed unit with its own mission in teaching Asian Studies, not Asian American Studies, as each belonged to International Area Studies and American Ethnic Studies respectively in the traditional academic division of labor. Efforts had to be undertaken at the University level to support a more meaningful curriculum in Asian American Studies. As a result, ASA launched a major petition for developing such a curriculum in 1996, led by then President Jeff Huang and Vice-President Albert Hwang (who succeeded Jeff the next year). The petition campaign collected more than one thousand signatures from the University community. It called specifically for the establishment of a program in Asian American Studies with its own faculty to teach regular courses. The letter was presented to the late Chancellor Michael Hooker. While the Chancellor expressed his sympathy and moral support, he also pointed out that initiatives had to be taken first through the College of Arts and Sciences and its academic departments, especially when it involved matters of creating new faculty positions and academic units.

ASA then tried to discuss the matter with administrators and individual faculty in the College. The ultimate issue boiled down to funding. As the discussion dragged on and student leaders saw little political will forthcoming, the campaign wound down. The conclusion they drew at the time was this: the condition seemed not ripe until more Asian American students were enrolled at the University and took a more radical approach to push for their agenda. It should be noted, however, that recent trends in American academe have been to move towards Asian Diaspora Studies (that is, including but also expanding Asian American Studies as it existed up to the mid-1990s on the West Coast and the Northeast). I suggest that supporters for Asian American Studies at UNC broaden its agenda in the context of globalization (and push the right buttons such as "trans-pacific Asian Diaspora") so as to enlist a wider support from the faculty and the administration.

 
Successes Elsewhere
The University of Texas at Austin

(to be added)

Duke University

(to be added)

 
Progress and Obstacles at UNC
(to be added)
 
Web Resources
What is Asian American Studies?
How to Start an Asian American Studies Program (East of California Association for Asian American Studies)
Discussion of Asian American Studies Campaigns at Queens College, City University of New York (April 2002)
U. Minnesota Asian American Studies Initiative
UC-Irvine proposal (May/June 2001)
U. Indiana proposal (November 2001)
U. Pennsylvania proposal
Princeton proposal (page 1 2 3)
UT-Austin chronology
U. Arizona: Minutes of a meeting considering establishment of an AAS minor
UC-Berkeley chronology
UC-Berkeley needs assessment (2000) (.pdf)
Texas A&M needs assessment
U. Colorado chronology
U. Illinois chronology
U. Maryland chronology
Northwestern U. chronology
Big 10 needs assessment
 
   
   
   
   
   
Andrew Chin   Andrew Chin