Opportunities for Community - University Partnerships: Implementing a Service-Learning Research Model in Asian American Studies

Abstract

Over the last quarter century, many Asian American Studies (AAS) programs have gradually gained academic legitimacy within universities as part of the movement for Ethnic Studies. The pressures of fighting for legitimacy in a system where research, not community-based work, is rewarded mean that the growing institutionalization of AAS has made the majority of programs and courses less accessible to communities. This article calls for AAS to take a more active, practical, and broader approach in reaching out to Asian Pacific Americans (APA) in our community, especially the underserved who face several obstacles in achieving their goals due to lack of access, lack of education, and discrimination. Asian American Studies now devotes a smaller share of its growing resources to community-orientated and community-based courses than at its inception, exacerbating the divide between the university and APA communities. Asian American Studies must return to its roots as a social agent in a broader social movement for equality and justice. This article introduces a service-learning research model that is one approach to linking the Asian Pacific American community with university Asian American Studies departments and programs across the nation.