Reflections on Linking the Global South and Asian American Studies

Abstract

Paralleling my research has been my involvement in practice, particularly the institution building of Asian American Studies. In this short piece, I provide some vignettes from the first two decades of Asian American Studies. In the 1970s and 1980s, when our numbers were small, there was no road map on how to develop a new interdisciplinary field, and linkages across regions had to be built to develop a national professional organization. In recognizing the retirement of Don Nakanishi, Director of the Asian American Studies Center at UCLA, I also reflect upon aspects of how my various interests and activities have dovetailed with Don, Asian American Studies, and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, especially around efforts to broaden Asian American Studies to include an international dimension.