The views and opinions expressed on this site and blog posts (excluding comments on blog posts left by others) are entirely my own and do not represent those of any employer or organization with whom I am currently or previously have been associated.
Academic Version: Applying my personal experiences and academic research as a professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies to provide a more complete understanding of political, economic, and cultural issues and current events related to American race relations, and Asia/Asian America in particular.
Plain English: Trying to put my Ph.D. to good use.
Here are some more announcements, links, and job postings about academic-related jobs, fellowships, and other related opportunities for those interested in racial/ethnic/diversity issues. As always, the announcements and links are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of the organization or college involved.
The Asian American Justice Center Youth Advisory Council is launching a campaign to highlight the rich, unique family histories within the Asian American Pacific Islander community through the What’s Your Story Campaign. This campaign is a response to this nation’s ongoing debate on immigrant rights and immigration.
Despite this collective recognition that our immigration system is broken, too little attention has been paid to protect and improve the cornerstone of American immigration policy – family reunification. Your stories will help show members of Congress the importance of the family immigration system to Asian Americans community. Please take a a few minutes to fill out this survey and let your story be heard.
Behind every person, there is a story. Together our stories will depict America’s rich diversity but we cannot paint this picture without your story. Take a few minutes to fill out our survey and join our movement to celebrate where we come from and where we are going. You can also send your story and content (ie stories, videos, pictures, etc) to Huyen Cao at huyen.cao1@gmail.com.
The deadline for submissions is July 1. Thank you very much.
The Korematsu Institute advances pan-ethnic civil and human rights through education, activism and leadership development. The Institute is founded in the name of American civil rights hero Fred T. Korematsu. In 1942, at the age of 23, he refused to go to the government’s incarceration camps for Japanese Americans. After he was arrested and convicted of defying the government’s order, he appealed his case all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1944, the Supreme Court ruled against him, arguing that incarceration was justified due to military necessity.
In 1983, a group of young lawyers re-opened Korematsu’s case on the basis of government misconduct, leading his conviction to be overturned. Until his death in 2005, Fred Korematsu remained a tireless advocate for civil rights, including the rights of Arab and Muslim Americans after 9/11. In 2011, California commemorated its first Fred Korematsu Day, the first day in US history named after an Asian American.
Korematsu Institute internships offer unique opportunities for students interested in civil rights, education & exhibits, design and technology, documentary film and media, event planning and fundraising, and archival research. The program will also help students develop leadership skills in order to foster understanding among different minority communities whose rights have been threatened by racial and religious profiling. There are many internship projects to work on during this early, exciting period of the Institute. Some project areas include:
Education: help design school curriculum about Fred Korematsu’s story and the current relevance of his case. Work with the Institute’s director on introducing curriculum to schools and preparing exhibits for museums
Design and Technology: design fliers and marketing materials for events, enhance web site design, work on technology-related curriculum, such as interactive games
Documentary Film and Media: help produce short films projects, archive historical footage, work with filmmakers to set up film screenings. Track and analyze media coverage
Events and Fundraising: coordinate events, including fundraising and outreach events, museum exhibitions, and collaborations with other civil rights groups across the country. Assist in fundraising research and outreach
Research: research historical archives to supplement/organize our Fred Korematsu library
Depending on your background and interest, we may be able to dedicate most of your internship to one or two of these project areas, however interns are expected to be flexible and willing to take on additional tasks, including some administrative work. Compensation: Our internships are unpaid, but very often, undergraduates can receive college credit for fulfilling their intern assignments.
Requirements:
Fall/Winter internships: Because of Fred Korematsu Day every January 30, the fall/winter internships are longer, running from Sept/Oct to mid-February (we understand that students may be out of town during winter holidays). Please note that start/end dates are relatively flexible to accommodate class schedules. You must be available during regular office hours from 9am-5pm.
We need individuals who are passionate about our cause and committed to following through on every task to contribute to our Institute’s mission. We are looking for extremely organized team members who are skilled at multitasking. Multimedia, web or layout design, and leadership skills are a plus.
Application: Please email the following materials to info@korematsuinstitute.org:
Completed internship application form (available at korematsuinstitute.org )
1-page resume
Name, title, phone number and email address for two school or work references
Deadlines: Fall/Winter 2011-2012 internship application deadline: Friday, July 8, 2011. You will be contacted for an interview within one month if we have decided to advance your candidacy.
Post Doc: Social Justice, Saint Louis University
Social Justice Post-Doctoral Fellow Position
Saint Louis University, a Catholic Jesuit Institution dedicated to student learning, research, health care, and service seeks a full-time postdoctoral research fellowship position in Social Justice Studies which will begin in August of 2011. This is a two-year position with the second year renewal contingent on a satisfactory annual review. Applicants must be a recent doctoral graduate (degree obtained in 2008 or later) who is highly motivated in developing a research portfolio in immigration, aging, and health care, is able to work effectively with ethnically diverse populations, and possesses strong methodological (quantitative and/or qualitative) and communication skills. Individuals who have completed a doctoral degree in psychology, sociology, anthropology, counseling, health care ethics, social work, or other area in the social sciences are welcome to apply.
The postdoctoral fellow will work with an interdisciplinary team on a series of projects designed to investigate immigrants’ experiences with the health care system. The fellow will receive intensive research training under a faculty mentorship model to develop as an independent investigator. Fellowship training opportunities include, but are not limited to, leading project activities, enhancing research and analytic skills, achieving independent research goals, co-authoring peer-reviewed journals, presenting findings at professional conferences, and writing grants.
The position will include a competitive salary for 12-month contract plus health care benefits. Applications will be accepted beginning immediately and reviewed until the position is filled. Applications should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, one writing sample, and three references. Letters are not required. The application must be made online at http://jobs.slu.edu.
For more information, contact:
Hisako Matsuo, Ph.D., Professor, Sociology and Criminal Justice, matsuoh@slu.edu, 314-977-2536
Lisa Willoughby, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Psychology, willoulm@slu.edu, 314-977-2531
Fellowship Cultivates New Generation of Asian Pacific American Filmmakers
Applications Due July 29th
Visual Communications is now accepting applications for its10th annual Armed With a Camera Fellowship. The fellowship fosters the education, training and professional development of up-and-coming Asian Pacific American filmmakers. In doing so, it seeks to shed light on the experiences of communities traditionally underrepresented by visual media.
The fellowship is open to filmmakers under 30-years-old of Asian Pacific descent. South Asian, Southeast Asian and women filmmakers are strongly encouraged to apply. From November 2011 to March 2012 Visual Communications will provide the support and resources for ten fellows to each to create a five-minute digital video. These resources will include:
$500 cash grant
Training, workshops and mentoring from industry professionals
Opportunity for collaborative work with other fellows
Access to equipment and editing facilities
World premiere of completed film in the “VC Digital Posse†showcase of the 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
All-access pass to films, panels and events of the 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
Opportunity to network with professional filmmakers and Visual Communications staff and supporters
In the past decade, Visual Communications has supported 70 filmmakers through the fellowship. Last year’s portfolio represents a characteristic diversity of topics. One documentary traces the disappearance of a Filipino-American R&B star. Another tells the emigration story of a filmmaker’s Vietnamese father. Several narrative works explore family relationships. In one, a South Asian lesbian woman spends the Hindu New Year with her partner. In another, a Japanese woman questions her marriage to an American. Settings range from a World War II battlefield in France to a sci-fi future.
Applications are available at www.vconline.org. The Armed with a Camera Fellowship is partially funded by the James Irvine Foundation, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the Morgan Stanley Foundation. Please contact Daina Solomon (daina@vconline.org or 213 680-4462 ext. 30) for more information.
The 2011 Advancing Justice Conference will be held in beautiful San Francisco on October 27-28, 2011. This year’s conference will pay tribute to the rich history of activism that makes the Bay Area such a special place for all communities, but especially Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. This year, the Asian Law Caucus, a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, will be the local host for the conference, with APALC co-hosting.
Registration is now open!
This year’s conference will include exciting and diverse workshops on:
Civil & Human Rights
Capacity Building
Youth Leadership & Community Organizing
Immigrant Integration & Civic Participation
There will also be five engaging plenary sessions focusing on veteran Asian American activists, emerging Asian American geographic communities, social entrepreneurship, Pacific Islanders, and cross-racial alliance building. The Advancing Justice Conference will be an exciting opportunity to discuss the pressing immigrant and civil rights issues of today and to network with peers. We hope that you will join us in October in San Francisco.
A limited number of scholarships & travel stipends are available to conference participants. Factors taken into consideration include: financial need, geography, ethnic diversity, and area of expertise. Apply today! Deadline to apply is 5 pm PST on Friday, August 21, 2011. Applicants will be notified by Monday, August 31, 2011.
Many of you have probably seen The Hangover Part 2, the sequel to the surprise hit of 2009. I recently watched the first Hangover film and mostly enjoyed it, although it was not quite as uproariously hilarious as many of my friends hyped it up to be. I have yet to see Hangover 2 and now my motivation has declined even further, after reading my friend Jeff Yang’s recent article about it in his column for the San Francisco Chronicle. Some excerpts:
“H2” made an absurd $103 million over the three-day weekend — an all-time record for a live-action comedy, despite near-universal excoriation by critics, who called it “uninspired and unoriginal,” “unclean and mostly unfunny,” and “rancid and predictable.” What few pointed out was that, in seeking to top the already over-the-top comic sensibilities of the original, the filmmakers chose the sleaziest, easiest possible solution, unleashing a relentless bastinado of abuse at the expense of Asians, a group that they presumably felt could be targeted with minimal concern about potential backlash.
If you’re an Asian who swallowed hard upon hearing that the sequel would be set in Bangkok, you’ll need to swallow harder just to keep down your gorge at what they’ve produced. The film’s depiction of Thailand transforms the “Land of Smiles” into a bizarro realm of brute violence, grim depravity and unfettered libido, populated entirely by broad racial stereotypes: Thuggish gangsters. Wizened monks. Lascivious ladyboys. Not to mention whiz-kid pre-meds, infinitely forgiving lotus-blossom brides and the Father of All Tiger Dads. . . .
As an Asian American who enjoyed the first film, I found the sequel bluntly and inexplicably offensive — with the fact that the movie opened in the waning days of May [Asian Pacific American Heritage Month] being soy sauce in the wound.
Jeff Yang could have ranted on about the various ways in which he found Hangover 2 offensive but most of his article actually focuses on what Asian Americans can actually do about this ongoing problem of Asians and Asian Americans consistently being portrayed using racist stereotypes in mainstream Hollywood films. Specifically, he offers some thoughts about the possibility of not only creating an alternative set of filmmakers who would portray Asian Americans more accurately, but also creating an alternative audience that would be able to sustain such independent efforts. But along the way, Jeff raises some important challenges that still need to be addressed:
For an indie filmmaker, you simply can’t make money with theatrical distribution. But if you’re talking a target not of theatrical distribution but direct-to-DVD, a film with a guerrilla $250,000 budget can make back its costs and return a healthy profit if it sells 20,000 units at $20 a pop. . . .
Now, there are currently more than a million Asian Americans enrolled in college — two-thirds of whom are concentrated in eight states. It would only take two percent of them collectively purchasing a book or DVD or CD to make it solidly profitable — supporting the work of a creative artist, and enabling that creator to continue doing what he or she does, with full freedom to make art that’s appealing and authentic and true to an Asian American experience.
This is the gist of something that, in our conversations, cultural critic and academic Oliver Wang has dubbed The Two Percent Project. Here’s how it might work: Get together a group of smart, influential tastemakers — journalists, critics, student leaders, bloggers. Have them select five indie Asian American creators — writers, filmmakers, musicians — from an open call that includes anyone with a brand-new, brashly different and commercially viable product.
Send these creators on a collective national barnstorming tour of the college campuses with the biggest Asian American student representation — reading, performing, speaking, and showing their work and their potential. The costs of the tour would be covered by student organization funds and corporate sponsors.
Here’s the kicker: Although attendance at these events would be free, every attendee would have to purchase one of the five products these artists are promoting on the spot, while enrolling in an online community that gives the artists long-term engagement with their consumers. The goal? Constructing an independent audience. Reinventing the Asian American brand. And creating recorded proof that Asian American artists are marketable and that a market exists to sustain them.
Jeff’s idea sounds plausible to me, especially if Asian Americans, young and old, keep railing against movies rife with racial stereotypes like Hangover 2. Jeff’s idea doesn’t even take into consideration the growing numbers of Asian American professionals who are making good money and actually have the financial means to support such independent efforts even more than college students. If there is a plan that can incorporate them into this movement, it would certainly produce positive results.
Either way, I applaud Jeff Yang, Oliver Wang, and others who are doing more than just complaining about injustices against Asian Americans — they’re proposing potential plans of action and solutions to the problem. Their specific ideas may or may not bear fruit immediately but at the least, they get the conversation started, get ideas rolling, and will hopefully lead to some innovative thinking and action to get something done.
Even if it’s a small step, at least it’s a step in the right direction.
Here are some more announcements, links, and job postings about academic-related jobs, fellowships, and other related opportunities for those interested in racial/ethnic/diversity issues. As always, the announcements and links are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of the organization or college involved.
Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) is a leading, national non-profit organization working toward social justice in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities. The organization’s mission is to champion social justice and achieve parity and empowerment for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders by supporting and mobilizing community-led movements through advocacy and leadership development on critical public health issues.
Under the supervision of the APPEAL Executive Director and Program Manager, the Program Coordinator is responsible for coordinating activities of the ADEPT Project, a data dissemination project funded by the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program and some activities of the APPEAL PROMISE Network, a national network of individuals and organizations working towards a tobacco-free AA and NHPI community. This position will include the following duties and responsibilities:
Compile and analyze data on AA and NHPI tobacco control and related social justice issues
Disseminate data on AA and NHPI tobacco control to community organizations, policymakers and ethnic and mainstream media
Plan, implement, monitor and troubleshoot project activities and progress
Assist with the production and distribution of Network materials including factsheets, toolkits and case studies
Provide ongoing technical assistance, support, and follow-up to partner organizations
Write and submit required program and documentation of progress and participate in regular communication with funders
Represent APPEAL at conferences, meetings and other events
Work effectively with diverse communities and marinating consistent communication with community partners, coalitions, and community leaders
Coordinate meetings and trainings with other staff and partners (e.g. scheduling, locating meeting venues, coordinating travel, etc.)
Commitment to the philosophy of APPEAL, to build community capacity and to provide technical assistance and training in a community competent manner
Other duties as requested by the Program Manager and Executive Director
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in public health or other relevant field, plus three years work experience or commensurate experience required
Understanding of and experience working with Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities (and other diverse communities) required
Experience in program coordination required
Ability to work effectively with cross-cultural communities. Experience working with communities of color and LGBT communities is desired
Ability to advocate for AA and NHPI communities on issues including those related to tobacco and its risk factors and other social justice areas
Strong research and analytical skills desired
Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish positive relationships with community members and organizations required
Self-motivated and having the ability to balance working independently and part of a diverse team
Ability to multi-task, provide consistent follow-up, and prioritize effectively
Strong verbal communication and writing skills required
Proficiency with PC-based computers and Window, experience with Microsoft Office suite: Word, Excel, Outlook and Internet required, PowerPoint desired
Some travel may be required
Email resume and cover letter to: PCposition@appealforhealth.org Please include position title in subject line.
OR
Send resume and cover letter to: APPEAL—Program Coordinator
Hiring Committee:
300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Ste. 620
Oakland, CA 94612
Interviews will be granted according to the qualifications of the applicant. APPEAL is an equal opportunity employer. Women and people of color are encouraged to apply.
To honor the 29th anniversary of the death of Vincent Chin (June 23, 2011), an online version of “Vincent Who?” can be viewed for free. This limited-time offer (until the end of July 2011) is brought to you by Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (APAP) and the producers of “Vincent Who?”
Also on the new site is the latest touring schedule for 2011-12, more research material on the Vincent Chin case and ordering information for your very own V. Chin t-shirts from Blacklava.
Please note that this new site, vincentwhomovie.com, along with the APAP website, are the only sites affiliated with the non-profit efforts of APAP and the film’s producers, including the documentary’s writer/producer, Curtis Chin. Because there may be unaffiliated, for-profit sites, we encourage you to turn to vincentwhomovie.com and APAP.
May we continue to learn from, and honor the memory of, Vincent Chin! Thanks for your continued support!
2009: Internet Technology, White Supremacy, & Racial Tolerance The growing popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube has helped White supremacists broadcast their message to a larger audience.
2008: Professors Who Walk the Walk A group of professors show us how to turn your beliefs about social justice and equality into practice.
2007: Asianization of Queens, New York A profile of demographic and cultural changes in Queens, New York — can it serve as a model for the U.S. in general?
2005: Asian Women Small Businesses A new report focuses on the motivations, challenges, and success of small businesses owned by Asian American women.
2004: Who’s the More Ignorant? Reactions to a racial slur from Bill Parcells highlights the historical and ongoing differences between being ‘Asian’ and ‘Asian American.’
2003: Abercombie & Fitch in Trouble Again Retailer Abercrombie & Fitch shows its true (White) colors once more as it’s accused of discriminating against people of color — again.
