DEADLINE REMINDER!!!!!

The deadline for submitting proposals for MSU’s 3rd Annual Asian Pacific American Studies Conference is fast approaching! Please submit your proposal/papers by January 15th to receive early consideration for the conference.

Global-is-Asian: Asian diaspora identities in the context of globalization.
April 17th- Evening kickoff event- April 18th- Conference
Keynote Speaker: Helen Zia
Website: https://www.msu.edu/~apaspec/conf09/index.html

This conference is co-sponsored by the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) Asian American Studies Consortium. To encourage participation by CIC-AASC members, the CIC will cover a limited number of travel stipends for faculty, staff, and graduate students from CIC institutions who are presenting at the conference. Payment is conditional on acceptance of the paper proposal and will be provided in the form of reimbursement following participation in the conference. Please contact Andrea Louie at louie@msu.edu if you are interested in this opportunity.

Community and identity formation have never occurred in a vacuum. However, processes of globalization increasingly facilitate connections, both real and imagined, with other parts of the world. This conference focuses on Asian populations in diaspora—that is, living outside their ancestral homelands. Though the definition of diaspora and its application to various populations has long been debated, in using the term “diaspora” we assert the importance of understanding Asian communities within a global context; as sharing key similarities but as far from homogeneous. We aim to investigate how global forces, both historical and contemporary, have reshaped diasporic forms and analytical categories for examining collective memory, political alliances, transpacific migrations and movements, social spaces and global networks. We hope to explore what Jigna Desai (2004) has called the “heterogeneous connections to both the homeland and to other diasporic locations through such forms as political commitment, imagination, memory, travel, and cultural production.”

The forms of cultural production –transnational youth cultures, art, cinema, literature, internet communities, new social movements– that emerge in the context of globalization hold exciting potential. We are interested in exploring the range of identities that are constructed by Asian diasporic communities, and how these forms are then re-shaped through interactions, on both local and global scales.
• How do transnational flows of media, popular culture, goods, and capital originating from Asian communities in other parts of the world affect the expression and negotiation of “local” Asian identities?
• How are race, gender, class, sexuality, and religious identities reshaped or reworked through the experience of being in diaspora, or by local conditions that shape that expression?
• What new forms of travel, dwelling, migration, and exile emerge in the contemporary context of globalization?
• How do transnational religious movements among Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists and other religions play out within the context of diaspora?
• How do “Asian” groups that did not previously view themselves as sharing similarities broaden their ethnic boundaries in the context of specific racial, economic, and social policies in their countries of settlement?
• Indeed, how might the very definition of “Asian” or the assumed congruence of “race” and “culture” be redefined in the context of diaspora, as in the case of hapa, adoptee, peranakan, and others that reflect the hybridity of diaspora populations?
• How do global forces facilitate or hamper the imagining of homelands, or the creation of new ties altogether? Are homelands merely a construct to compensate for losses?
• What happens when communities who had imagined one another from afar meet though a global encounter (Chinese Americans visiting the motherland, Korean adoptees on homeland tours, Japanese Brazilians going to Japan for work)?

At the same time, we also hope to question the ways that an overemphasis on “global” or “diaspora” as academic buzzwords which, as Sau-ling Wong has noted, can result in the glossing over of local, regional and national levels of organization, and distract from nation-based identities (such as Asian American) that allow for coalition building and empowerment. These terms can become so broad and all encompassing as to lose their specificity of meaning, or merely become a means of expressing old concepts in new packaging.

We cannot ignore the continued power of nation states to define both national and local contexts that shape the constraints under which actors explore and express identities.
• In what ways do state constructions of legal or cultural citizenship define the parameters within which local communities operate?
• In the context of shifting global economies, it is also important to consider how Asian diaspora populations interact with others in their countries of residence. How do the politics of race and multiculturalism in Brazil, the UK, South Africa, the U.S. and elsewhere differentially shape the lives of Asian populations in those locations?
• How does the broader consumption of “Asian” culture through transnational Asian foods, goods, popular culture, movies, affect mainstream perceptions of Asians in a given location?
• How do neoliberal economic reforms accompanying globalization and the emergence of various Asian countries as global powers shape interactions between Asian immigrant entrepreneurs and local populations?

Please submit proposals to Joseph Villafuerte at global.is.asian09@gmail.com no later than January 15, 2009.

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 the presentation.

http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/

Hyphen has recently acquired some funding and can now pay for features that fit with our issues’ themes. Read below for info on how to pitch for our next issue, the Family issue, due out in Spring.

Guidelines for writers

Hyphen is a magazine about Asian America for the culturally and politically savvy. Built around a clarity of image, word and social awareness, Hyphen takes form from the artists, thinkers and creators who are shaping a new multiethnic generation.

The best way to figure out what stories will appeal to us is to read our current magazine, as well as our back issues. Also take note of our style ­ we are edgy without being obnoxious, and we encourage writers to find their voice.

Like its readers, Hyphen is many things  cool librarian, shy musician, dorky hipster, cute techie. Like Asian America, its interests are varied  politics, art, health, music. Nonetheless, all Hyphen articles share certain traits. They are fact-driven and
informational and strive to stay ahead of the trends. They are aimed at well-informed, self-aware readers who are immersed in Asian American culture so the key is not to tell them what they already know but to take it to the next level. This means delving deep into issues, dissecting and analyzing them while also offering perspectives that may not have been previously explored.

Proposals for articles that would interest our readers should provoke  dialogue, and enrich our readers’ learning experiences. Articles must  be jargon-free and attributable to unassailable sources. We frown  upon clichés and embrace original thinking. We prefer articles rich in color and driven by narrative scenes.

Keep in mind that Hyphen magazine readers range in age from early 20s to mid-30s, but they share an intellectual curiosity that was fused and fueled by their experiences as Asian Americans. This restless curiosity fundamentally shapes our consideration of articles for Hyphen.

The theme for the spring 2009 issue of Hyphen is “Family.” We are soliciting proposals for feature length stories (up to 2,000 words) and stories for other departments of the magazine that fit this theme. (See www.hyphenmagazine.com and click on “get involved” and “submission guidelines” for a description of each department.)

As a not-for-profit, volunteer-run organization, Hyphen has limited resources, but we have secured funding to pay $500 for in-depth,  feature-length stories that can carry the theme for each issue. Unfortunately we cannot yet offer compensation for articles in other departments.

To submit an article query, send us a two-page proposal by email (preferred) or standard mail. The proposal should include the following:
1 An overview of the central message of the article you propose. Preferably three or four paragraphs preferably anecdotal that introduce us to your point of view.
2 Declare what is new, innovative, useful, counterintuitive, or controversial about the topic.
3 What are the implications both in the near and long term for Asian Americans and others?
4 Why are you proposing the article? How did you happen upon the topic?
5 How did you go about researching the topic? What further research  must you do? Describe your sources or other connections.
6 How long do you propose the article will be?
7 What makes you uniquely qualified to write this article?

Send queries to editorial@hyphenmagazine.com or Hyphen magazine, 17
Walter U. Lum Place, San Francisco, CA 94108.

AAAS Call for Elections (2009-2011)

The Secretariat seeks nominations of individuals willing to serve on the governing board of the Association for Asian American Studies. The deadline for nominations is December 15, 2008. The formal ballot will be mailed to all registered members by January 15, 2009.

N. California
Midwest
N. England/Central and Eastern Canada
Interior West/South

Candidates must be current members of t he Association. Send letter of interest and candidate statement to: AAAS Secretariat, Cornell University, 420 Rockefeller Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-2502 or email: ssh13@cornell.edu. Announcement of election results will be published in the March 2009 Newsletter. The term of office will begin at the Annual Meeting (April 22-26, 2009 in Honolulu, HI).

*Chinese American Women: A History of Resilience and Resistance*

NEW EXHIBITION ON THE HISTORY OF CHINESE AMERICAN WOMEN OPENS

The National Women’s History Museum has launched  *Chinese American Women: A History of Resilience and Resistance*, a  CyberExhibit which depicts the history of Chinese American Women during their first 100 years in the United States, curated by Jean Pfaelzer, author of  *Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans* (Random House, UC Press 2008).

The exhibit is at:
http://www.nwhm.org/Chinese/1.html

The CyberExhibit, *Chinese American Women: A History of Resilience and Resistance*, describes how many Chinese women arrived in the United States, sometimes kidnapped, sometimes with bound feet, how many unrecognized Chinese American women toiled in laundries, shops, restaurants and fields, while still tending to their families, and how one woman, Yoke Leen, marched into her county courthouse in 1910 and documented herself as a free woman so no man could lay claim to her. It describes Chinese American women leading strikes, forging Chinatowns, resisting vigilantes, opening shops, working in munitions factories during World War II, the first Chinese American woman to vote, and filing the earliest law suit for reparations.

“While stepping forward does not mean breaking from traditions, it is time to step out of the shadows and be our own, proud, free voices of Asian American women,” Organization of Chinese Americans National President Ginny Gong said of the exhibit.

Joan Wages, Executive Director of the National Women’s History Museum added, “The exhibit portrays how Chinese American women demonstrated great courage in breaking down barriers to live a better life.”

“This exhibit puts Chinese American women at the center of the history of migration, labor, and civil rights. From the moment of leaving China, to immigration legislation, to home life to working life, from violence to violation, from resistance to resilience, this is a history whose time has come,” said Prof. Jean Pfaelzer,  the curator for the exhibit.

This exhibit

http://www.nwhm.org/Chinese/1.html

will have a permanent home at the NWHM, and is available now for online viewing. It opened at the OCA National Convention in Washington DC.

The National Women’s History Museum (NWHM), founded in 1996, is dedicated to honoring women’s many contributions to our nation. NWHM is online at http://www.nwhm.org.

Jean Pfaelzer, Professor English, E.Asian Studies, Women’s Studies, University of Delaware, Library of Congress Scholar
www.udel.edu/PR/drivenout/

Callfor Contributors to the Encyclopedia
of Asian American Folklore (Publisher: Greenwood, 2010) (Executive Editors: Dr.
Jonathan H. X. Lee and Dr. Kathleen Nadeau);
interested contributors are invited to email Jonathan
Lee at gojonjongo@gmail.com for a copy of the prospectus/Call and headword list
of available topics, etc.

This is the first encyclopedia project of its
kind and is inclusive of all the different cultural communities, including
those that are often less represented in Asian American scholarship. We
especially need contributors for the:
Burmese American, Chinese American, Hmong
American, Indian American, Indonesian American, Japanese American, Khmer
American, Korean American, Laotian American, Malaysian American, Mongolian
American, Nepali American, Pacific Islanders American, Punjabi American, Sri
Lankan American, Thai American, Tibetan American, Vietnamese American, and
other pan-Asian American sections, etc.

This project employs the broadest definition
and discourse of folklore, and by extension contends that Asian American
folklore, is, generally speaking, emerging. Asian American folklore consists of
more than Asian mythologies that are narrated in Asian American families and
communities; it is an Asian American way of life. Asian American
folklore encompasses the narrative history of Asians in America; it is
the totality of Asian material culture, religious
traditions, performances, celebrations, social relations, and so on, used to produce individual and collective Asian American
identities. The remaining available headwords are broader than the title
of this project suggest.

Write to Jonathan Lee at <mailto:gojonjongo%40gmail.com>gojonjongo@gmail.com for official call and/or more information.

Remaining Available Headwords

Headwords Words
Asian American Folklore: Theories and Methods
Asian American Film Studies and Folklore 2000
Asian American History and Folklore 2000
Asian American Visual Culture and Folklore 2000
Pacific Islander American Studies and Folklore 2000
Burmese America
Burmese America: History, People, and Culture 2000
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Burmese America 500
Arts and Crafts in Burmese America 500
Burmese American Foods and Foodways 500
Burmese American Heroes and Heroines 500
Burmese American Identity 500
Burmese American Literature and Folklore 500
Burmese American Names and Naming 500
Burmese American Narrative Folktale 500
Burmese American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Burmese American Superstition and Taboo 500
Burmese American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Burmese Folk Dance and Performance in America 500
Children and Folk Songs in Burmese America 500
Domestic Religious Practices in Burmese America 500
Dying and Death Rituals in Burmese America 500
Festivals and Holidays in Burmese America 500
Mythological and Legendary Deities Burmese America 500
Nature and Animal in Burmese America 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Burmese America 500
Religion in Burmese American Communities 1000
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Burmese America 500
Templesin Burmese America 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Burmese American 500
Cambodian America
Arts and Crafts in Cambodian America 500
Cambodian American Family and Community 500
Cambodian American Foods and Foodways 500
Cambodian American Heroes and Heroines 500
Cambodian American Home Decoration 500
Cambodian American Identity 500
Cambodian American Literature 500
Cambodian American Names and Naming 500
Cambodian American Narrative Folktale 500
Cambodian American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Cambodian American Superstition and Taboo 500
Children and Folk Song in Cambodian America 500
Clothe and Jewelry in Cambodian America 500
Domestic Religious Practices in Cambodian America 500
Dying and Death Rituals in Cambodian America 500
Festivals and Holidays in Cambodia America 500
Folk Dance and Performance in Cambodian America 500
Folk Stereotypes in Cambodian America 500
Nature and Animals in Cambodian America 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Cambodian America 500
Religion in Cambodian American Communities 1000
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Cambodian America 500
Templesin Cambodian America 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Cambodian America 500
Chinese America
Chinese America: History, People, and Culture (inc. Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong) 2000
AngelIsland 500
Arts and Crafts in Chinese America 500
Bok Kai Parade 500
Children and Folk Song in Chinese America 500
Chinese American Heroes and Heroines 500
Chinese American Hui and Tong (Family Associations and Secret Societies) 500
Chinese American Literature and Folklore 500
Donald Duk 500
Edith Maud Eaton (Sui Sin Far) 500
Folk Dances and Performances in Chinese America 500
Kitty Tsui 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Chinese America 500
Filipino America
Children and Folk Song in Filipino America 500
Hmong America
Hmong America: History, People, and Culture 2000
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Hmong America 500
Arts and Crafts in Hmong America 500
Children and Folk in Hmong America 500
Domestic Religious Practices in Hmong America 500
Dying and Death Rituals in Hmong America 500
Festivals and Holidays in Hmong America 500
Folk Dance and Performance in Hmong America 500
Hmong American Family and Community 500
Hmong American Foods and Foodways 500
Hmong American Heroes and Heroines 500
Hmong American Literature and Folklore
Hmong American Names and Naming 500
Hmong reverse appliqués 500
Nature and Animals in Hmong America 500
Indian America
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Indian America 500
Arts and Crafts in Indian America 500
Indian American Muslim Mosque 500
Indian American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Nature and Animal in Indian America 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Indian America 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Indian America 500
Indonesian America
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Indonesian America 500
Arts and Crafts in Indonesian America 500
Children and Folk Song in Indonesian America 500
Clothe and Jewelry in Indonesian America 500
Dying and Death Rituals in Indonesian America 500
Folk Dance and Performance in Indonesian America 500
Indonesian American Family and Community 500
Indonesian American Heroes and Heroines 500
Indonesian American Home Decoration 500
Indonesian American Identity 500
Indonesian American Literature and Folklore 500
Indonesian American Names and Naming 500
Indonesian American Narrative Folktale 500
Indonesian American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Indonesian American Superstition and Taboo 500
Javanese Puppets 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Indonesian America 500
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Indonesian America 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Indonesian American 500
Japanese America
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Japanese America 500
Folk Dance and Performance in Japanese America 500
Hisaye Yamamoto 500
Japanese American Heroes and Heroines 500
Japanese American Names and Naming 500
Japanese American Narrative Folktale 500
Japanese American Superstition and Taboo 500
John Okada 500
Nature and Animal in Japanese America 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Japanese America 500
Toshi Mori 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Japanese American 500
Korean America
Arts and Crafts in Korean America 500
Clothe and Jewelry in Korean America 500
Korean American Heroes and Heroines 500
Korean American Home Decoration 500
Korean American Names and Naming 500
Korean American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Korean American Superstition and Taboo 500
Korean American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Korean martial arts in America 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Korean America 500
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Korean America 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Korean America 500
Laotian America
Laotian America: History, People, and Culture 2000
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Laotian America 500
Arts and Crafts in Laotian America 500
Children and Folk Song in Laotian America 500
Clothe and Jewelry in Laotian America 500
Domestic Religious Practices in Laotian America 500
Dying and Death Rituals in Laotian America 500
Festivals and Holidays Laotian America 500
Folk Dance and Performance in Laotian America 500
Khmu baskets (Northern Laos) 500
Laotian American Family and Community 500
Laotian American Foods and Foodways 500
Laotian American Heroes and Heroines 500
Laotian American Home Decoration 500
Laotian American Identity 500
Laotian American Literature and Folklore 500
Laotian American Names and Naming 500
Laotian American Narrative Folktale 500
Laotian American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Laotian American Superstition and Taboo 500
Laotian American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Laotian America 500
Religion in Laotian American Communities 1000
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Laotian America 500
Malaysian America
Malaysian America: History, People, and Culture 2000
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Malaysian America 500
Arts and Crafts in Malaysian America 500
Children and Folk in Malaysian America 500
Clothe and Jewelry in Malaysian America 500
Dying and Death Rituals in Malaysian America 500
Festivals and Holidays Malaysian America 500
Folk Dance in Malaysian America 500
Malaysian American Family and Community 500
Malaysian American Foods and Foodways 500
Malaysian American Heroes and Heroines 500
Malaysian American Home Decoration 500
Malaysian American Narrative Folktale 500
Malaysian American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Malaysian American Superstition and Taboo 500
Malaysian American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Malaysian America 500
Religion in Malaysian American Communities 1000
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Malaysian America 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Malaysian America 500
Mongolian America
Mongolian America: History, People, and Culture 2000
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Mongolian America 500
Arts and Crafts in Mongolian America 500
Clothe and Jewelry in Mongolian American 500
Dying and Death Rituals in Mongolian America 500
Mongolian American Foods and Foodways 500
Mongolian American Heroes and Heroines 500
Mongolian American Identity 500
Mongolian American Literature and Folklore 500
Mongolian American Narrative Folktale 500
Mongolian American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Mongolian American Superstition and Taboo 500
Mongolian American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Mongolian America 500
Religion Mongolian American Communities 1000
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Mongolian America 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Mongolian America 500
Nepali America
Nepali America: History, People, and Culture 2000
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Nepali America 500
Arts and Crafts Nepali America 500
Children and Folk Song in Nepali America 500
Clothe and Jewelry Nepali America 500
Dying and Death Rituals Nepali America 500
Folk Dance and Performance in Nepali America 500
Nepali American Family and Community 500
Nepali American Heroes and Heroines 500
Nepali American Home Decoration 500
Nepali American Identity 500
Nepali American Literature and Folklore 500
Nepali American Names and Naming 500
Nepali American Narrative Folktale 500
Nepali American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Nepali American Superstition and Taboo 500
Nepali American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Nepali America 500
Religion in Nepali American Communities 1000
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Nepali America 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Nepali America 500
Pakistani America
Pacific Islanders America
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Pacific Islanders America 500
Arts and Crafts in Pacific Islanders America 500
Children and Folk Song in Pacific Islanders America 500
Clothe and Jewelry in Pacific Islanders America 500
Dying and Death Rituals in Pacific Islanders America 500
Festivals and Holidays in Pacific Islanders America 500
Fijiand Fijian 500
Folk Dance in Pacific Islanders America 500
Hawai’iand Hawaiian 500
Nature and Animal in Pacific Islanders America 500
Pacific Islanders American Family and Community 500
Pacific Islanders American Foods and Foodways 500
Pacific Islanders American Heroes and Heroines 500
Pacific Islanders American Home Decoration 500
Pacific Islanders American Identity 500
Pacific Islanders American Literature and Folklore 500
Pacific Islanders American Names and Naming 500
Pacific Islanders American Narrative Folktale 500
Pacific Islanders American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Pacific Islanders American Superstition and Taboo 500
Pacific Islanders American Tattooing 500
Pacific Islanders American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Pacific Islanders America 500
Religion in Pacific Islanders American Communities 1000
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Pacific Islanders America 500
Sacred Space in Pacific Islanders America 500
Surf and Surfing 500
Tahitiand Tahitian 500
Punjabi America
Arts and Crafts in Punjabi America 500
Folklore in Sikh America 500
Punjabi American Home Decoration 500
Punjabi American Narrative Folktale 500
Punjabi American Superstition and Taboo 500
Punjabi American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Punjabi America 500
Sri Lankan America
Arts and Crafts in Sri Lankan America 500
Children and Folk in Sri Lankan America 500
Clothe and Jewelry in Sri Lankan America 500
Festivals and Holidays in Sri Lankan America 500
Folk Dance and Performance in Sri Lankan America 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Sri Lankan America 500
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Sri Lankan America 500
Sri Lankan American Family and Community 500
Sri Lankan American Foods and Foodways 500
Sri Lankan American Heroes and Heroines 500
Sri Lankan American Home Decoration 500
Sri Lankan American Identity 500
Sri Lankan American Literature and Folklore 500
Sri Lankan American Names and Naming 500
Sri Lankan American Narrative Folktale 500
Sri Lankan American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Sri Lankan American Superstition and Taboo 500
Sri Lankan American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Sri Lankan America 500
Thai America
Thai America: History, People, and Culture 2000
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Thai America 500
Arts and Crafts in Thai America 500
Children and Folk in Thai America 500
Clothe and Jewelry in Thai America 500
Dying and Death Rituals in Thai America 500
Festivals and Holidays in Thai America 500
Folk Dance and Performances in Thai America 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Thai America 500
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Thai America 500
Thai American Foods and Foodways 500
Thai American Heroes and Heroines 500
Thai American Home Decoration 500
Thai American Identity 500
Thai American Literature and Folklore 500
Thai American Names and Naming 500
Thai American Narrative Folktale 500
Thai American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Thai American Superstition and Taboo 500
Thai American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Thai America 500
Tibetan America
Tibetan America: History, People, and Culture 2000
Ancestor, Ghost, and Spirit in Tibetan America 500
Arts and Crafts in Tibetan America 500
Children and Folk Song in Tibetan America 500
Clothe and Jewelry in Tibetan America 500
Dying and Death Rituals in Tibetan America 500
Festivals and Holidays in Tibetan America 500
Folk Dance and Performances in Tibetan America 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Tibetan America 500
Religion in Tibetan American Communities 1000
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Tibetan America 500
Tibetan American Family and Community 500
Tibetan American Foods and Foodways 500
Tibetan American Heroes and Heroines 500
Tibetan American Home Decoration 500
Tibetan American Identity 500
Tibetan American Literature and Folklore 500
Tibetan American Names and Naming 500
Tibetan American Narrative Folktale 500
Tibetan American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Tibetan American Superstition and Taboo 500
Tibetan American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Tibetan America 500
Vietnamese America
Vietnamese America: History, People, and Culture 2000
Arts and Crafts Vietnamese America 500
Children and Folk Song in Vietnamese America 500
Clothe and Jewelry in Vietnamese America 500
Festivals and Holidays in Vietnamese America 500
Proverbs and Maxims in Vietnamese America 500
Rite of Passages (e.g. birth ceremonies, weddings, coming of age) in Vietnamese America 500
Tet New Year 500
Traditional Healing and Medicine in Vietnamese America 500
Vietnamese American Family and Community 500
Vietnamese American Foods and Foodways 500
Vietnamese American Heroes and Heroines 500
Vietnamese American Home Decoration 500
Vietnamese American Names and Naming 500
Vietnamese American Narrative Folktale 500
Vietnamese American Social Etiquette and Customs 500
Vietnamese American Superstition and Taboo 500
Vietnamese American Vernacular Language, Speech, and Manner 500
Pan-Asian American
Lotus 500
Lotus Festival 500

UCLA: 2009-10 Postdoctoral/Visiting Scholar Fellowship in Asian American Studies and Ethnic Studies

The UCLA Institute of American Cultures, in cooperation with UCLA’s four Ethnic Studies Research Centers (American Indian Studies Center, Asian American Studies Center, Bunche Center for African American Studies Center, and the Chicano Studies Research Center), offers fellowships to postdoctoral/visiting scholars to support research on African Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Chicanas/os. Each Center awards one postdoctoral/visiting scholar fellowship for the academic year in a national competition.

The fellowship includes a stipend (which can be used as a sabbatical supplement) that ranges from $32,000 to $35,000 (contingent upon rank, experience, and date of completion of the Ph.D), up to $4,000 in research support, and health benefits. If applicable, the stipend is paid in the form of a reimbursement to the Fellow’s home institution. Appointments are for a 9-month period beginning on October 1, 2009.

Eligibility: Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States and hold a Ph.D. from an accredited college/university (or, in the case of the arts, a terminal degree) in the appropriate field at the time of appointment. UCLA faculty, staff, and currently enrolled students are not eligible to apply.

IAC Postdoctoral Fellows/Scholars are to be in residence during their tenure and to make a contribution to the research activities of the sponsoring Ethnic Studies Research Center. Each fellow/scholar is expected to devote full time to study and research and accept no other form of employment. In the case of the Asian American Studies Center, the fellow/scholar will also teach a 10-week undergraduate OR graduate seminar based on his or her research with the Department of Asian American Studies.

Applications are due by January 16, 2009, and recipients are notified in April, 2009.

NOTE: Offer of award is contingent upon funding availability.

For further information, please contact the Institute of American Cultures Coordinator or one of the IAC coordinators at the centers listed below. The application form is available online at: http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu/iacweb/applic.htm

Asian American Studies Center
ATTN: IAC Coordinator
3230 Campbell Hall
Box 951546
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1546
Telephone number: 310.825.2974

Bunche Center for African American Studies
ATTN: IAC Coordinator
160 Haines Hall
Box 951545
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1545
Telephone number: 310.825.7403

American Indian Studies Center
ATTN: IAC Coordinator
3220 Campbell Hall
Box 951548
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1548
Telephone Number: 310.825.7315

Chicano Studies Research Center
ATTN: IAC Coordinator
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Box 951544
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Telephone Number: 310.825.2363

For General Information:
Institute of American Cultures
Coordinator
1237 Murphy Hall
Box 951419
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Telephone number: 310.825.1233
Email: iaccoordinator@gdnet.ucla.edu

Call for Papers

“A Long and Tumultuous Relationship”
East-West Interchanges in American Art

October 1-2, 2009
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

Paper submissions are invited for this symposium, which will address the complicated interactions between American and Asian artists and visual traditions from the eighteenth century to the present. Scholars are encouraged to send in proposals engaging all media of visual art, and including craft, architecture, and the moving image. Original, innovative scholarship is sought investigating all manner of artistic interchanges, including issues of patronage, art markets, and popular culture, and engaging a wide range of geographic sites where these exchanges took place.

The title for our symposium stems from the writings of Bert Winther-Tamaki, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, who talks in his book Art in the Encounter of Nations about the need to avoid merely binary understandings of U.S.-Asian cultural exchanges and to steer clear of expectations that East and West have “core characteristics.” Earlier scholarship often has looked at the Asian influence on American art as a unidirectional and limited development, suggesting that Asian culture was unchanging and monolithic while characterizing American artists as dynamic and original in their ability to absorb and meld the best of diverse cultures. This symposium aims to consider instead what Winther-Tamaki calls the “contentious interdependency” born out of a “long and tumultuous relationship” between these cultures.

Scholarship is invited that complicates or reimagines the historical meanings of “East” and “West” as well as terms such as “orientalism” through the prism of multi-directional cultural exchange. The symposium will reflect an understanding that the “East” is made up of a wide variety of countries — not just Japan and China, whose influence on American art has been most discussed to date. In addition to high-art visual exchanges, interdisciplinary explorations of immigration, border cultures, and transnational flows in popular culture are welcome.

“A Long and Tumultuous Relationship”: East-West Interchanges in American Art is being organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) in partnership with the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art/Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, and is supported by a generous grant from the Terra Foundation for American Art.

To submit a paper, please send a two-page, double-spaced abstract (300-500 words) and a short c.v. to East-West Symposium, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, Victor Building, MRC 970, Washington D.C. 20013-7012. Proposals may also be submitted via e-mail to SAAMSymposium@si.edu.

Proposals must be received by February 2, 2009. Confirmed speakers will be required to submit the text of their 20-minute symposium presentations by September 1, 2009. A final text of the essay with endnotes will be due by January 5, 2010, for possible publication in the symposium proceedings. The symposium will be available for viewing in a simultaneous and, later, an archived webcast.