Call for Papers

The Asian Pacific American Studies Program at Michigan State University is happy to announce their 1st annual conference to be held on April 19 - 20, 2007.

We welcome a broad range of topics that seek to increase the visibility of Asian Pacific America. This year’s theme, “Envisioning Asian Pacific America,” aims to embrace the diversity, complexity and possibilities of Asian Pacific America in the 21st century. How do we envision the future of Asian Pacific American (APA) Studies and the role of APA Studies programs? How are APA communities created and impacted by global economic restructuring, immigration and ransnational processes? How does an historical perception of APAs impact the ways APAs are perceived in the present? What are the issues that APAs and APA communities currently face?

The program committee welcomes a variety of themes that engage the ways in which we envision Asian Pacific America. However, we particularly encourage proposals focusing on four specific areas that address and explore MSU’s mission as a world-grant university:Media and Representation, Race Relations, APAs in Michigan, and Globalization/Diaspora/Transnationalism. Individual paper proposals, complete panel proposals, and partial panel proposals are all welcome.

Media Representation: This theme explores the role and representation of APAs within mass media. Specific areas for exploration could be centered on the representations of the Asian body and the exoticism of Asian women or the emasculation of Asian men, tokenism or invisibility of Asian Pacific America, or the impact of film upon an APA identity and culture.

Race Relations: This theme explores the intersections and interactions of APAs and APA communities with other racial groups. Specific areas for exploration could be centered on the ways APAs have resisted historically exclusive miscegenation laws or the ways internalized racism affects the relationship of APAs with non-APAs.

APAs in Michigan: The APA population in Michigan is rapidly growing. Between 1990 and 2000, Michigan’s APA population more than doubled, and the state now has the second largest APA community in the Midwest. However, this increasingly significant APA presence is largely overlooked, both in Michigan and throughout the Midwest. Panels in this area could explore both the longstanding and expanding role of APAs in Michigan, or the impacts of Proposal 2 on Michigan’s APA community.

Globalization/Diaspora/Transnationalism: The APA Studies program at MSU plays a central role in expanding understanding of historical and contemporary processes of globalization, diaspora and transnationalism. Many recent APA communities maintain transnational connections to their homelands in Asia, allowing for the exploration of the local effects of global processes. This theme could explore Asian diasporas in the Americas, comparative studies of Asian communities in the United States and other nations, or the post-1965 establishment of transnational APA communities.

Please submit proposals to Meaghan Kozar, Program Manager, APA Research and Leadership Program, at kozarmea@msu.edu by February 20, 2007.

All proposals should be accompanied by

  1. a 300-500 word abstract and
  2. a one-page CV, including full contact information. Panel proposals should also include
  3. a cover sheet indicating the proposed panel title and papers.