Recent News
The Department of Ethnic Studies at Western Washington University is expanding its class offerings this Spring. Launched in fall 2024, this department has roots in the former College of Ethnic Studies. The college was established in 1969 but closed in 1978 due to budget concerns, enrollment decline and high faculty turnover, among other factors cited by the Program Study Committee at the time. The new department is a result of student activism, not unlike the college was.
Rick Bonus, Chair of… Read more
New York University's English Department is hosting a book launch for Professor Pacharee Sudhinaraset's new book, Worlds at the End: Los Angeles, Infrastructure, and the Apocalyptic Imagination. Pacharee was a teaching assistant with the American Ethnic Studies Department. Read more about her book on Temple University's website Temple University Press and feel free to check out details of the book… Read more
The 5th Annual Chinese Expulsion Remembrance March welcomed attendees in the morning with presentations at Hing Hay Park, followed by a circular march to the waterfront and back. The event commemorated the 1886 expulsion of 350 of Seattle's Chinese residents, who were forced to board a ship for San Francsico, where they were then deported to China.
“Past, present, and future merge,” University of Washington professor Dr. Connie So said, “and we continue helping others.” Prof. So was direct in… Read more
Wednesday, February 19, marked a grim anniversary in American history: 83 years ago, an executive order led to the mass incarceration of thousands of Japanese Americans. The trauma from the forced removals still remains today, as Seattle held its Day of Remembrance rally.
Prof. Vince Schleitwiler's great-grandfather was incarcerated in Salinas. "To look at the images of him, and to understand what he went through but then to be able to stand here and feel his presence and think about what it… Read more
In a recent TIE Talks interview, Linh Thủy Nguyễn discusses her book Displacing Kinship, which explores how second-generation Vietnamese Americans contend with intergenerational trauma rooted in the legacies of the Vietnam War alongside the racism they experience as part of immigrant families attempting to assimilate into American life. Through the course of the conversation, Linh also touches on the importance of making academic research intelligible to non-academic… Read more
In the Winter 2024-2025 Generations Journal, Professor LaShawnDa Pittman has several amazing articles included and her work titled, Skipping Generation Households: A Snapshot of Preface for Three Articles is featured on the landing page of Generations. The additional articles included in this issue are… Read more
Artwork dedicated to Japanese Americans incarcerated in WWII was discovered vandalized on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. Jeff Liang, Interim Executive Director with Chinatown International District's Business Improvement Area (CID-BIA) was alerted of the defacement on Monday, Jan. 20th., in Nihonmachi Alley, the Japantown area of CID. It is unclear when the vandalism happened or who committed the act.
A CID resident saw the mural was smeared in… Read more
In the January 2025 College of Arts & Sciences Perspectives Newsletter, AES alumnus Paulo Pontemayor was highlighted in a story titled, "Advocating for Better Health Care". Pontemayor is currently senior director of government relations at the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), the national leadership organization of more than 2,200 Catholic health care systems, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and related… Read more
American Ethnic Studies had the pleasure of hosting visits from Highline Public School's 8th graders. Students from several schools in the district visited the campus as part of an introduction to student life at the University of Washington. Chris Carr, and Carolyn Pinedo-Turnovsky, AES staff and faculty, respectively, presented information about the origins of AES. They helped students envision the pathway towards a career and lifestyle that would support ideas for a potential career.
AES… Read more
The Autumn Quarter 2024 APPI Thrive Newsletter was recently posted. In this newsletter, AES alumnus Nestor Enguerra, Jr. shares his Director's Message. There are also additional newsworthy sections to read through, like AAPI Thrive Project's impact, their new location, welcoming the 2024-2025 cohort, and much more! … Read more