Week 8 - Jo Kawabata

After reading this week's reading, "What Asian Americans are Bringing to Campus Movements for Racial Justice" by Mark Tseng Putterman, I learned about several occasions in which students protested against university issues related to Asian American contemporary problems. Across the many examples the article discusses, Asian Americans began to garner the courage and realized importance for standing up for their selves and the right to equality in academia.

I believe this article is very relevant to the course and this week's theme as it demonstrates how Asian Americans have combated contemporary issues unique to Asian Americans. I believe that without the movements that have occurred across the nation in the past, Asian American studies may not even be much of a recognized study today. I believe it is very important for students, especially those defending their ethnicity, to stand strong as at least for me, my ethnicity and nationality is part of my identity which I am very proud of and I believe it is the same for others. However, like I have mentioned in previous reading responses, I believe it is imperative for students to be able to learn the proper way to stand of for their beliefs. For example, while it was unfortunate that some students had to take the extreme measure to turn to hunger strikes such as in 1995 Northwestern strike, I believe that had students learned a more efficient and safe way to protest, both parties could walk out without any potential harm on either side.


This is a picture from an pro-refugee protest in which people are trying to fight for refugees to be welcomed into the country. Lately, a lot of people of middle eastern ethnicity have been receiving hate crime from the public. This is not far from what Asian Americans have experienced throughout history. As a group of minorities who have experienced and partially overcome such discrimination, we should held others to get the freedom they deserve.

Question:
What is the history of Asian American Studies at UC Davis and are we currently experiencing any under representation in the department?

References:
Putterman, M. T. (2017). What asian americans are bringing to campus movements for racial justice. Race files. Retrieved 05/21/17 from  https://www.racefiles.com/2016/02/01/what-asian-americans-are-bringing-to-campus-movements-for-racial-justice/

PressTV. (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2017, from http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/12/06/440536/Germany-protests-Schifferstadt-Ohringen-refugee