The Asian American Studies Working Group

“Asian America(n)” is a term fraught with contradictions. It obscures as much as it illuminates, for it seeks to collapse a diversity of experiences, cultures, histories, and people into a monolithic category of identification. Its construction is that of both an identity–something claimed–and an identification–something imposed. How do the stories we tell, and the ways in which we tell them, give meaning to the identity, and shape to the category and this field of study?

Established in Spring 2023, The Asian American Studies Working Group is a dedicated forum for graduate students working in the field of Asian American studies to meet regularly, engage in collective readings, and share work and ideas. Our goal is to cultivate interdisciplinary intellectual collaboration and community within the field. We welcome M.A. and Ph.D. students working on topics in or connected to Asian American studies across all disciplines to join. The group meets approximately twice a month in an informal setting to workshop members’ works-in-progress and to discuss the future of the field.

Workshop Co-Organizers:

Autumn Galindo (she/her) in History: akg2189@columbia.edu

Winona Guo (they/them) in English/Comparative Literature: whg2114@columbia.edu