Call for Papers
The Asian Pacific American Studies Program at Michigan State University is happy to announce their 2nd annual conference to be held on April 12, 2008.
“Asian American Intersections: Transcending Boundaries, Embracing Coalitions”
The theme of this year’s conference “Asian Pacific American Intersections: Transcending Boundaries, Embracing Coalitions” observes the significant and innovative ways the Asian Pacific American community intersects socially, politically, and historically with varied communities across lines of race, gender, class, identity, culture, and sexuality. With an increasingly global, diverse and racially mixed world, the discipline of APA Studies can no longer afford to function in isolation from other political communities and disciplinary approaches. Although APAs have a long history of coalition building with other racial communities this memory has been silenced. In what ways can we recuperate histories of APA coalition building with other communities? Given the ways in which APAs have been stereotyped as “Model Minorities” in opposition to other racial groups, how might studies of APA intersectionality challenge these divisions? How does a comparative examination of Asian Diasporas facilitate an understanding of the relationship between race, culture, and identity across national borders? How does popular culture participate in defining (or redefining) APA intersections? How can a theory of APA intersectionality impact pedagogy across a variety of disciplines? What challenges can we anticipate APAs will encounter as critical discourse begins to embrace a theoretical framework of intersectionality? How does a discourse of APA intersectionality offer possibilities for the future?
Some possible topics centering on APA intersections include:
* Asian-Latin American or Asian-African American histories
* Hapa and multiracial identities
* Films, Literature and music
* Pedagogy and Ethnic Studies Programs
* Diaspora, Transnationalism, Globalization
Please submit proposals to Meaghan Kozar at kozarmea@msu.edu no later than January 14, 2008.
All proposals must include:
1. 250-300 word abstract
2. one-page CV, including full contact information
3. A list of any audio or visual equipment needed for presentation.