the blog

Great courses, award-winning teachers.

CHECK IT:

AAS 1101: Imagining Asian America/ MWF 10:10-11am/ 3 credits / Prof. Erika Lee. We will use history, memoir, film, and other texts to explore the changing face of Asian America & to examine how “Asian America” is central to understanding American popular culture and public life. (Lib Ed reqs: Citizenship/Publ Ethics, Cultural Diversity)

AAS 1201: Racial Formation and Transformation/ T,Th 8:00-9:15am/Prof. Yuichiro Onishi. This course asks: what does it take to discuss race seriously? And it suggests a counter-narrative to contemporary growing public opinionthat (1) casts America as a "raceless” nation, (2) interprets antiracism as “reverse racism,” and (3) embraces “diversity” to maintain the racial status quo.

AAS 3001: Contemporary Asian America / T, Th 2:15 -3:30/Prof. Kale Fajardo. Interdisciplinary overview of Asian American experiences/identities. Emphasizes post-1965 migration/community, history, cultural productions, and contemporary concerns of Asian Americans.

AAS 3270: Service Learning in the Asian Community/ W 3:35-4:25pm / 2 credits/Juavah Lee. Students engage in service learning among members of local Asian communities. Readings, mentoring, English language instruction, other activities.

AAS 3501: Asian America Through Arts and Culture/ T,Th 2:30-3:45pm/3 credits/ Asian American experience, identity, and community through literature, dance, music, photography, film, theater. Students work with local Asian American arts groups/organizations. Students express their own cultural contradictions through writing and other forms of artistic expression and attend local arts events. (Lib Ed reqs: Cultural Diversity, Other Humanities Core)

[SOC 3090]: Introduction to U.S. Immigration/ T,TH 11:15am – 12:30pm/ 3 credits/ Prof. Lisa Sun-Hee Park. This course focuses on the ways immigrant communities have transformed the foundations of American life. We will tackle 3 particular themes: new racial transformations, the immigrant narrative, and social citizenship. In doing this, we will discuss the impact of immigrants on the ideologies and institutions that structure our communities and society.

[Soc 3251w]: Sociological Perspectives on Race, Class, and Gender/T,Th 11:15am - 12:30pm/3 credits/Prof. Teresa Swartz. Race, class, and gender as aspects of social identity and as features of social organization. Experiences of women of color in the U.S., family life, work, violence, sexuality/reproduction. Possibilities for social change. (Lib Ed reqs: Cultural Diversity, Social Science Core, Writing Intensive)

AAS 4311: Asian American Literature and Drama/ T,TH 11:15am-12:30pm/3 credits/Prof. Josephine Lee. Literary/dramatic works by Asian American writers, past: Sui Sin Far and Carlos Bulosan, and present: Frank Chin, Maxine Hong Kingston, David Henry Hwang, Han Ong. Political/historical background of Asian American artists, their aesthetic choices.

Posted by isler010 at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On April 2, the KSA will be presenting a traditional Korean wedding event in the Great Hall:

This event will be at 6pm, and you will need a flyer to get in, or you will have to wait to be seated. Please e-mail back if you want to be on our guest list.

We are also looking for volunteers to help us out at this event. We need people to serve food, help with backstage, and also some wedding roles. If you are interested, please contact ASAP.

Posted by isler010 at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Local hip hop artist Tou Saiko Lee will be on campus Wednesday, March 25!

Stop by NichH (Nicholson Hall), room 125 at 7PM to see him perform, and to hear what he has to say about the power of hip hop.

Visit Lee's MySpace for more.

This event is free and open to the public.

Posted by isler010 at 6:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The ASU is holding a T-shirt design contest this year!

The deadline for entering your creation is 5PM, MONDAY MARCH 9TH

To participate, e-mail your T-shirt idea to the ASU execs.

For more, be sure to check out these guidelines.

Good luck! And may the best design win...

Posted by isler010 at 6:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Program in Asian American Studies and the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota announce a new graduate fellowship in any field of Hmong Studies, generously funded by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.

Students from the professional schools, as well as the Graduate School, are invited to apply. Applicants should provide copies of transcripts, a 500 word statement about their research interests, a letter of recommendation from the advisor and a letter of endorsement from the director of graduate studies.

Applications must be submitted to Ann Waltner in the Institute for Advanced Study (131 Nolte Center) by 4:30 p.m. on April 1.

Students currently enrolled at the University of Minnesota are eligible, as are students admitted for the 2009-10 academic year. (For newly admitted students, departments may substitute letters of recommendation for the letter from the advisor.)

Details of the package may vary depending on the program the student is enrolled in, but will generally cover tuition, a competitive stipend, and health benefits. Fellows are expected to participate in the Asian American Studies Program's Asian American/Diaspora Studies proseminar during the course of their fellowship.

If you have any questions, contact Ann Waltner, director of the Institute for Advanced Study at or Erika Lee, director of the Program in Asian American Studies.

Posted by isler010 at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MISA, HMSA, Bharat & KISO will be holding an International Music Night this evening!

Here's more:

Venue: Weisman Art Museum
Date: Friday, March 6, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Weisman Art Museum

DJs will be spinning music from around the world. Admission is free--as are drinks and food.

Come one, come all...

Posted by isler010 at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The call for 2009 GRPPs (GRADUATE RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM fellowships) in Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies is out!

If you'd like a full description of the fellowship, and more information on how to apply, visit this website.

Here's more:

The Graduate Research Partnership Program (GRPP) encourages graduate students enrolled in graduate programs housed within the College of Liberal Arts to partner with a CLA faculty project adviser on projects of shared interest. This particular GRPP fellowship is for students who would like to partner with core and affiliated faculty members of the Chicano Studies Department, American Indian Studies Department, African American and African Studies Department, and the Asian American Studies Program. The program provides GRPP Fellows with a summer research stipend of $4,000 for summer 2009.

This GRPP may be used for pre-dissertation or dissertation research.

TERMS OF AWARD:
Awards will be in the form of a fellowship of $4,000. We may be able to
award additional funds to cover the cost of materials, travel, and expenses
associated with the project up to $500. There will be a total of four
awards available in 2009.

ELIGIBILITY:

The competition is open to graduate students in CLA. Students are ineligible if they have incompletes in official program coursework from a prior term on their transcript. As a condition of the award, GRPP Fellows may not hold
summer appointments in excess of .25 FTE, except to teach a May term course.

Students receiving other University of Minnesota fellowships during the period are ineligible for the GRPP Fellowship. Students may hold external fellowships if the request is approved by their departments¹ GRPP selection
committee. Students may not register for courses while they hold a GRPP Fellowship.

Priority will be given to students whose work emphasizes comparative race and ethnic studies but those focusing on a single group will also be considered. Priority will be given to candidates who have not previously had a GRPP.

Posted by isler010 at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Indian Student Association at the U is putting together a Relay for Life® team this year.

Relay For Life® is an overnight event going for 12 hours, signifying the journey a cancer patient endures - darkness, cold, night, and sunrise - hope. It is about celebration, remembrance, and hope. It is expected that the U will have over 1,760 participants this year. By participating, you honor cancer survivors, pay tribute to the lives we've lost to the disease, and raise money to help fight it all right here in your community. In the past, people have brought in movies, games, food, music, and much more.

The event is a lot of fun and it's for a great cause!

Interested in helping out? Get in touch with Yash Premsukh.

Here's more:

Date: Friday, April 17th @ 6pm- Saturday, April 18th @ 6am
Location: University of Minnesota Field House

This is the website you need to visit.

Let's relay for a cure!

PS: Are you part of another Asian American student group, participating in this event? Let us know about it in the comments section!

Posted by isler010 at 2:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This Friday, March 6, the U will be hosting a group of talented poets.

Here's more:

7 p.m., at the Elmer L. Andersen Library (222-21st Ave S)
Room 120ABC

When people claim that America is a nation of immigrants, what do they mean?

Artists of color and indigenous poets from Minnesota respond.

This free event will feature short performances by:

*Marcie Rendon, Juliana Hu Pegues,*
*Tatiana Ormaza, Ibe Kaba,*
*Preeti Kaur, Lorena Duarte,*
*Tish Jones, Diego Vazquez,*
*Charlotte Albrecht, and Robert Farid Karimi*

And will include a special presentation by the Immigrant Freedom Network.

This event is co-sponsored by The Institute for Global Studies, The Immigration History Research Center, The Department of American Studies, and the Loft Literary Center.

Posted by isler010 at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)