A conversation with Professors Sameer Pandya and Lisa Sun-Hee Park

Asian America is having a very public moment. There is a Vice-President who identifies as both Black and South Asian; Asian Americans were a key voting bloc in turning Georgia blue while, at the same time, they are being courted by Republicans; Sandra Oh has made the phrase “It’s an Honor to be an Asian” a mantra of ethnic chic; there is a new generation of writers and filmmakers who are engaged in questions around identity and post-identity. And yet, in the year that has passed since the start of the COVID pandemic, anti-Asian violence has seen a frightening spike in cases. Just as more and more Asian Americans are visible, they are also being visibly attacked. How do we make sense of this contradiction? Is this a contradiction or a causality? How we try to understand and name this current moment is crucial precisely because it will provide us the roadmap to imagining our collective futures.

This event is part of Virtual All Gaucho Reunion week, April 19-25, 2021. Alumni, faculty, and students are all welcome to attend. To RSVP, go to https://www.alumni.ucsb.edu/events/all-gaucho-reunion/schedule, select 'Register Here' and select this event from the drop-down menu. Upon registration, you will then be emailed the Zoom link for this event. For assistance, please contact Cora Danielson at cora@ucsb.edu.

(Image below by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, "I Still Believe In Our City" Campaign, NYC Human Rights Commission.)