Director’s Note

Comparative Student Data

FY23 Course Offerings & Enrollment

Program Highlights

AAST Welcome | september 6, 2022

The program kicked off the fall semester by connecting with AAST minors and having a meet-and-greet with our new faculty member, Dr. Jennifer Cho!

Within Dr. Cho’s full course load, two of the classes were new to AAST course offerings:

• AAST498G: Asian American Women and Gender

• AAST298G: Asian American Foodways

Filipino American Arts Activism in the DMV: Community Education Presentation and Participatory Workshop | october 21, 2022

This event was in collaboration with FCArts. Marjorie Antonio (FCArts founding director and AAST minor ‘22) presented a community education presentation featuring their American Studies honors thesis, “The Grave at the Foot of the Empire,” which documents and analyzes the Tsinelas Action, a Filipino American artistic activist demonstration on the National Mall that occurred Nov 2021.

Antonio invited Kai Kai Mascareñas (AAST Program Coordinator) and Chrissi Fabro (External Vice President, Kabataan Alliance), both Washington, D.C. Filipino American community organizers and Tsinelas Action organizers, to speak about the demonstration, inspirations, and advocacy tied to the Tsinelas Action.

Attendees deconstructed arts activism through participatory workshops ranging from music and sound, to theatrical performance, visual art, and storytelling.

This workshop was covered in The Diamondback: UMD Filipino community celebrates Filipino American history month with art activism

Equity through numbers: A conversation with Robert santos, director, u.s. census bureau | november 7, 2022

The Robert H. Smith School of Business and the Asian American Studies Program were excited to welcome Robert Santos, Director, U.S. Census Bureau, to the University of Maryland. Director Santos shared his journey to becoming the first person of color to receive Senate confirmation to lead the federal government's largest statistical agency. Director Santos also shared his perspective on the role of data in ensuring political representation and equitable federal funding around the United States. The opening introduction was by Dr. Georgina Dodge, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion at UMD. 

This program was supported by the Juanita Tamayo Lott Endowment at UMD AAST.; US Latino/a/x Studies; Federal Fellows Programs at UMD; the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Outreach Group of the American Statistical Association; and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI).

Open class series | fall 2022 and Spring 2023

Several AAST classes welcomed guest speakers into their classroom and select AAST class sessions were open to the UMD and broader community.

Fall 2022:

• AAST394: Growing up Asian American: The Asian Immigrant Family and the Second Generation ft. Julienne Palbusa, Ph.D (University of California, Office of the President)

  “At some point, you are no longer faking”: From navigating college to informing higher education decision making

• AAST363: Filipino American History and Biography ft. Eleonor Castillo, Ph.D (San Diego State)

  What are the Lived Experiences of Filipinx American Teachers?

• AAST351: Asian Americans and Media ft. stef torralba (UC Riverside)

  Undocumented Queer and Trans* U.S. Filipinxs/as/os in Film

Spring 2023:

• AAST498Q: Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Studies ft. Nitasha Tamar Sharma, Ph.D (Northwestern)

  Book Chat on "Hawaii is My Haven: Race and Indigeneity in the Black Pacific"

• AAST498W: South Asian American Literature and Pop Culture ft. Asif Iqbal, Ph.D (Oberlin)

  Deshe/Bideshe: Bangladeshi American Lived Experiences in Tanwi Nandini Islam’s Bright Lines

The “Enemy alien” Files: Hidden stories of world war II | february 20 - march 15, 2023

The exhibit revealed the little-known stories of over 31,000 German, Italian, and Japanese immigrant residents and citizens of the U.S and seized from 18 Latin American nations who were imprisoned as “enemy aliens” in the U.S. in over 50 Department of Justice and Army camps and detention facilities during WWII. This poignant history carries broad lessons for issues of deportation and removal today. 

This exhibit was supported by UMD Libraries, Asian American Studies Program, Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program, Italian Studies Program (SLLC), and EAF Consortium.

2022 - 2023 Chandni Kumar Annual Lecture ft Dr. Sam Vong and Thakur Mishra: Storytelling as Activism: The Bhutanese Diaspora and the Politics of Documenting Displacement | april 13, 2023

During our 6th CKAL, Dr. Binod Paudyal (AAST Lecturer) facilitated a conversation between Dr. Sam Vong (Curator of Asian Pacific American History) and Thakur Mishra (Executive Editor at the Bhutan News Service). The three touched upon community engagement within South Asian America and Bhutanese refugee communities in particular, public history, and how to bridge the work of local storytellers with cultural institutions like the Smithsonian.

As part of the annual speaker event, Nelson Chen was awarded the 2023 Student Impact Award.

Writing Workshop with Kimberly Nguyen | April 20, 2023

It seems that every Asian-American has at one time brought an ethnic home-cooked meal to school and experienced alienation in the school lunchroom. It has become part of our collective lore and a common memory/experience for us to connect over. But just as repeating a word over and over causes it to lose meaning, repeating an iteration of a story over and over causes it to lose its efficacy. This workshop explored how to make meaning from these memories, turning our recollections into compelling narratives that refuse to get lost in the multitudes.

Kimberly Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American diaspora poet originally from Omaha, Nebraska but now living in New York City. Her work can be found in diaCRITICS, Muzzle Magazine, The Minnesota Review, The Journal and others. She was a recipient of a Beatrice Daw Brown Prize, and she was a finalist for Frontier Poetry’s 2021 OPEN and New Poets Awards and Palette Poetry’s 2021 Previously Published Poem Prize. She was a 2021 Emerging Voices Fellow at PEN America and is currently a 2022-2023 Poetry Coalition Fellow.

This workshop was in collaboration with AASU with support from SEE Funding Board.

Asian American Foodways Cooking demo | April 25, 2023

Dr. Cho and students of AAST298G: Asian American Foodways held a cooking demonstration of the popular Hawaiian dish, spam musubi. Participants were able to learn the historical context of the popular food and its connection to militarism and war.

The event was in collaboration with the UMD Campus Pantry. Participants were also presented with the statistics and reality of food insecurity within Asian American families, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This event was covered in The Diamondback: UMD students explore Asian American food and history with hands-on demo

2023 AAST End of Year Celebration | May 9, 2023

The Asian American Studies Program was happy to host its End of Year Celebration in person, joined by students, faculty, staff, and members of the community.

Dr. Cixin Wang and Vi Le surprised Yeram Cheong, our departing Calvin J Li postdoc,with their reflections of her impact at UMD. Nelson Chen, Lahiruni Amarawardena, and Amanda Vu were awarded AAST scholarships for the 2023-2024 academic year. While not every student was able to join in person, 39 students completed the minor this academic year!

AAST Expansion Efforts

On March 8, 2023, AAST and the Asian American Student Union co-hosted a town hall on AAST expansion efforts. The Town Hall kicked off with a screening of the AAST Now! Documentary, highlighting the origins of AAST by student activists and the development of the AAST minor program. As in the past, student activism is driving the growth of Asian American Studies on our campus today. Student demands for an AAST Major were presented to Provost Rice last spring (2022). A group of AASU leaders and Director Wong met with Dean Cohen (UGST) and Provost Rice at the beginning of the Spring 2023 semester to share data and underscore student interest in Asian American Studies. The Town Hall was an opportunity to keep this momentum going!

We highlighted:  

• Growth - from 2013 to 2022, AAST Minor enrollment grew from 22 to 114;

• Robust course enrollments - for Academic Year 2021-2022, AAST offered 18 classes and enrolled 750 students; In the Spring of 2023, 11 out of 12 AAST classes had waitlists.

Our Fall 2022 AAST survey showed that of the 144 students (minors and students in AAST classes) who participated, 36% would consider enrolling in an AAST Major if it were available.

This is a strong foundation for growth toward a potential Major in Asian American Studies. We discussed 1) consistent and increasing numbers of AAST minors and 2) hiring at least one more faculty member as critical next steps before a Major can be explored. It became clear that to sustain expansion, we must show interest in the existing AAST Minor program and we must also be able to meet the teaching demands of increased enrollments. In 2013, there were 3 tenure track faculty in the AAST program. Today, despite the surge in AAST Minors and robust enrollments in AAST classes, there are 2 tenure track faculty in the AAST program, along with 2 full-time professional track faculty, as well as a postdoctoral researcher.

We had a lively discussion among students, staff, and faculty about ideas for expansion and ideas for future class offerings. As a follow-up to these developments, AASU and AAST have been working together on a proposal to hire a new faculty member in the Asian American Studies Program and it is currently moving forward. 

The town hall was covered in The Diamondback: UMD Asian American studies program holds town hall about creating major.

Student Recognition

• Lahiruni Dias Amarawardena (‘25) reached a milestone rite of passage as a Bharatanatyam dance student for 12 years by performing an Arangetram/Rangapravesham, her first full-length performance signifying her ability to present a complete suite of traditional repertoire.

• Nelson Chen (‘23) showcased his play, Eggs and Tomatoes, at the Fearless New Play Festival. The play focused on a Chinese American family that reconciles with the absence of a patriarchal figure in the midst of a coming out story. Nelson also performed in The Late Wedding at The Clarice and was published in articles by ARHU and DC Theater Arts for his role.

• Tara Davoodi (‘26) published an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun titled, “The Supreme Court made a mistake on affirmative action. Here’s how universities should respond.”

• Nyrene Monforte (‘23) edited and produced media for The Washington Post articles, “‘Invisible’: Some Asian Americans say admissions decision is no victory” and “'Y'all means all': Miss Texas fights for diversity.”

• AJ Saquilayan (‘23) was featured in The Washington Post article, “The fight for Asian American studies in colleges gains ground.”

• Amanda Vu (‘24) was featured in The Diamondback article, “The bare minimum:’ UMD students express mixed reactions to announced wage increases.”

• AAST minors presented their research at the Association of Asian American Studies Meeting under the direction of Dr. Rossina Liu and in collaboration with three doctoral students in the College of Education:

  • Lei Danielle Escobal (‘24) and Vi Le (‘23): Of intimacy and vulnerability: Zine-making as youth healing spaces

  • Jessica Nguyen (‘23): Answering the call: Bridging critical ethnic studies between home, community, and school

• AAST minors were well represented at the 42nd Annual University Student Leadership Awards:

  • Justin Fox (‘23) and Jessica Nguyen (‘23) were honored for being members of the Maryland Medallion Society and Model Citizenship Prizes/Elkins Finalists.

  • Ela Jalil (‘26) was honored as one of ODK’s Top Ten Freshmen Recipients.

  • Ava Lamberty (‘24) was the recipient of the Mildred & Richard Loving Award.

  • Vi Le (‘23) was the recipient of the Vera Cruz-Kochiyama Award.

Faculty/Staff Recognition

• Yeram Cheong, PhD (Calvin J. Li Postdoc) offered workshops on SEL (Socio-Emotional Learning) with teens, Parent-Teen workshops on building positive parent-child relationships through active listening and emotional coaching, as well as Youth Mental Health First Aid Training with Dr. Cixin Wang (Associate Professor, School Psychology). Yeram also accepted a job as Assistant Professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Development at San Francisco State University.

• Binod Paudyal, PhD (Senior Lecturer) received the Donna B. Hamilton Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in an Office of Undergraduate Studies Program.

• Alexandria Grant (Business and Scheduling Coordinator) pursued a professional development opportunity by attending the Wall Street Journal Women in the Workplace Forum in Spring 2023.

• Rossina Zamora Liu, MFA, PhD (Affiliate Faculty) published an op-ed in The Baltimore Banner with Tara Brown titled, “Commentary: College Board’s rotted roots reflected in decision on AP African American Studies.”

• Michelle Magalong, PhD (Affiliate Faculty) was featured in the Maryland Today article titled, “Uncovering D.C.’s Asian American Past.”

• Kai Kai Mascareñas, M.Ed. (Program Coordinator) served as a member of the UGST Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, helping develop the UGST DEI Brown Bag Series and 2023 Diversity and Inclusion Retreat on Affirmative Action. Kai Kai also co-mentored six students with Justine Suegay (MICA Graduate Assistant for APIDA Student Involvement) on student organizing projects related to AAST expansion efforts, caste protection, and anti-militarization efforts.

• Janelle Wong, PhD (Director) made national coverage when responding to the SCOTUS decision on affirmative action:

  • Affirmative Action Decision Day Roundtable hosted by the African American Policy Forum

  • NPR All Things Considered: What Asian Americans really think of affirmative action

  • Democracy Now!: Supreme Court Strikes Down Affirmative Action in Colleges, Keeps It for Military Academies: Roundtable with short clip

  • NPR Morning Edition: How Affirmative Action Divided Asian Americans and other people of color. Here's how.

  • NPR It's Been a Minute: A rare battle at the Supreme Court; plus, Asian Americans and affirmative action

• AAST faculty members were well represented at the 2023 Association of Asian American Studies Conference:

  • Jennifer Cho, PhD:

    • Presenter, Techno-Orientalism & Emotionality: “The Kiss and the Cut”: Reassemblages Of the Techno- Orientalist Clone Through Trans-species Grief AndIntimacy In Larissa Lai’s The Tiger Flu

  • Rossina Zamora Liu, MFA, PhD

    • Presenter, Where school walls end and critical consciousness begins: Cultivating sustainable publics with youth: Unlearning whiteness: Racial literacies of Asian American mentors and educators in community spaces

  • Phil Tajitsu Nash, Esq.

    • Presenter, Sprouting Roots: Remembering Franklin Odo Across Generations: Franklin’s Ten Lessons for the Activist Scholar

  • Binod Paudyal, PhD

    • Presenter, Asian American Reimaginings: Locating the Other South Asian America

  • Janelle Wong, PhD:

    • Presenter, Maria Ressa, the Global Struggle for Democracy, and Social Media: What Her Campaign in the Transnational
      Public Sphere Means for Asian Americans: Implications for Asian American politics

    • Presenter, Try Harder! Film

    • Chair & Discussant, Where school walls end and critical consciousness begins: Cultivating sustainable publics with youth

2023-2024 AAST Scholarship Recipients

Timothy J Ng Scholarship in Asian American Studies

The Timothy J Ng Scholarship in Asian American Studies encourages undergraduates who demonstrate strength in academics and leadership, especially where such achievement leads to improvement in the lives of Asian Americans.

Linh-Thong Huu Nguyen Memorial Scholarship

This memorial scholarship was established in 2008 by Tone’s brother and fellow Terp Tuan Nguyen to support undergraduates who are enrolled in the Asian American Studies Minor and demonstrate consistent academic achievement in their studies.

Major General Antonio Taguba Profiles in Courage and Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship recognizes undergraduates who demonstrate scholarship and outstanding leadership. Students are either Asian American Studies students or enrolled in the Army, Navy or Air Force ROTC program at the University of Maryland, and considering a career in federal public service, either civilian or military.

2022-2023 Asian American Studies Minors