Amherst Asian American Studies Working Group

05/26/2020

WHAT: How do we combat anti-Asian racism in the wake of COVID-19?
WHERE: Zoom
WHEN: May 28, 8-9 PM EST
WHO: Professors Hayashi and Odo

02/16/2020

https://amherststudent.com/article/its-time-to-recommit-to-asian-american-studies

Contributing writers from the Amherst AAS Working Group emphasize the need to rededicate Amherst resources to bolster Asian American Studies programs at the college.

12/17/2019

Amherst's Asian American Studies Working Group and Asian Students Association collaborated for the second-ever Chatime, an ongoing panel featuring Amherst's Asian American Studies scholars. This semester, writers-in-residence Min Jin Lee, Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint, and CHI Fellow Lili Kim discussed gendered (in)visibility within the Asian American and Asian American Studies community. What does it mean to be an Asian American womxn and where are their stories?

Thank you to all who came out for this incredibly special event! We are here—and we will be seen.

12/08/2019

Join Amherst's Asian American Studies Working Group and Asian Students Association for the second-ever Chatime, an ongoing panel featuring Amherst's Asian American Studies scholars. This semester, we’re discussing gendered (in)visibility within the Asian American and Asian American Studies community. What does it mean to be an Asian American womxn and where are their stories? Featuring writers-in-residence Min Jin Lee and Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint, and CHI Fellow Lili Kim. Refreshments provided!

Presented by Amherst students enrolled in Asian American Feminisms with Professor Miliann Kang at UMass.

11/10/2019

What is Professor Dhingra's favorite college memory? (ﾟﾍﾟ) hmmm... watch this video to find out! ..
Still thinking about classes? Consider signing up for AMST 204 -- The Asian American Experience !

11/01/2019

Can’t go wrong with these classes...don’t forget to preregister! Link in bio to detailed class descriptions💥 @ Amherst College

10/28/2019

Hi All! The Five-College Asian/Pacific/American Studies Certificate Program is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, and Asian American advocacy groups throughout the consortium are celebrating with a myriad of exciting programs! See below for details regarding the

05/10/2019

Congratulations to AASiA (Asian American Students in Action) at Williams for their hard work and activism to achieve this!

At 6:20pm today, Dean Buell emailed members of the CPC working group in Asian American Studies with the results of the CAP’s deliberations on the tenure-line requests for faculty in Asian American Studies.

The CAP has approved two tenure-track Asian Americanist hires, one in American Studies and one in Religion. One faculty search for a senior scholar to be appointed in American Studies will be conducted in the 2019-2020 academic year, and the second search will be conducted in the 2020-2021 academic year, “open-rank but likely with preference for an early-career scholar” in Religion.

The hiring of these two faculty specializing in Asian American Studies will play a critical role in finally establishing an Asian American Studies program at Williams. As for immediate next steps, we are envisioning student involvement in the hiring process, the formation of a program headed by a Committee of Educational Affairs (CEA) Working Group on Asian American Studies once the two faculty hires arrive, and then a hire exclusively in Asian American Studies, unlike the joint hires in Religion and American Studies.

We sincerely thank members of WAAAAN (Williams Asian and Asian American Alumni Network) for emailing President Mandel, Provost Love, and Dean Buell with statements in support of the CPC Working Group's report on Asian American Studies. In addition, we are immensely grateful to student and faculty allies both on campus and across the country at other colleges and universities who have supported us at our teach-ins, photo campaigns, demonstration at Previews in 2018, and in other initiatives.

This opens up a new chapter of the thirty-year-old Asian American Studies Movement at Williams; while we are excited for the faculty searches, these lines do not equate to a program. There is much more work still left to be done. We will continue to hold the administration accountable and make sure this necessary first step towards a program leads to its fruition.

Stay tuned for updates.

05/02/2019

Amherst's AASWG stands in solidarity with AASiA in their endeavors to advocate for the creation of a strong and sustainable Asian American Studies Program at Williams College.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE / WHAT IS AT STAKE?

This photo campaign is a continuation of last year's "Williams Doesn't Teach Me," a photo campaign advocating for the hiring of permanent positions in Asian American Studies to lay the foundations for an AAS program. As per the CPC AAS Working Group's recommendation of at least two tenure-track faculty in AAS, the Committee on Appointments and Promotions (CAP) is reviewing two submitted requests for Asian Americanists in Religion and American Studies.

We demand that the CAP holds to its word to follow the recommendations of the CPC Working Group's report and approve both lines this year. Only with both lines will an AAS program be possible.

For 28 years, we have watched. We have been patient. We will wait no longer.

Photo Credit: Grace Fan '19

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How can you help?

– Call the President's Office and leave voicemails, and email President Mandel, Provost Love, and Dean Buell with a statement in support of the CPC Working Group's report on AAS.

Mandel: [email protected]
Love: [email protected]
Buell: [email protected]

– Read and distribute the report as widely as possible: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fThoXu6xPI0tKD8BzsM4HhPUkQ6VOxQn/view?usp=sharing

– Get involved: Email [email protected].