In Defense of Asian American Studies: The Politics of Teaching and Program Building

In Defense of Asian American Studies: The Politics of Teaching and Program Building, by Sucheng Chan. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2005. 248 pp. Hardcover, $55.00; paper, $25.00. ISBN 0252030095. Since the 1990s, university and college campuses across the United States have witnessed a surge in the growth of Asian American Studies Programs (Monaghan, 1999; Sengupta, 1999). The field of Asian American Studies (AAS) has come a long way since its birth from the 1968 San Francisco State and 1969 University of California-Berkeley student strikes that demanded more diverse perspectives in the university curriculum. Despite growing pains over its past 35-plus years, AAS has become institutionalized in the academy. A few scholars have examined the history of AAS and its development (Chang, 1999; Endo & Wei, 1988; Espiritu, 1992; Wei, 1993). Additionally, essays in edited volumes have analyzed the theoretical and institutional challenges to developing this field that balances academic, community, and political missions (Butler, 2001; Nakanishi & Nishida, 1995; Okihiro, Hune, Hansen, & Liu, 1988). Sucheng Chan, professor emeritus of Asian American Studies and Global Studies at the University of California-Santa Barbara and a pioneer in the field of AAS, offers an important contribution to this sparse literature with her collection of writings, In Defense of Asian American Studies: The Politics of Teaching and Program Building (2005). In this anthology, Chan showcases a rich collection of primary documents--essays she wrote between 1974 and 2003 (some published, some unpublished) as she labored in the field of AAS as a teacher, scholar, and administrator at UC-Berkeley, UC-Santa Cruz, and UC-Santa Barbara. These writings speak volumes to the field's development at different historical moments. Chan's critical appraisal of the institutionalization of AAS reveals important insights for anyone interested in building AAS and understanding its history, current challenges, and future directions. This work covers three areas: conducting research, teaching, and program building. Part 1 ("Justifying Our Existence") includes Chan's work identifying primary research sources, establishing an academic association, creating a scholarly book series on Asian Americans, and developing an undergraduate degree in AAS. Chan embraces the importance of research, but she does so with a clear awareness of the academy's limited definitions of "scholarship" and mindful of the Asian American movement's community roots. Faculty who spend unseen (and unrewarded) hours of labor building AAS programs and who value their community connections often cannot prioritize the research that is so central to the tenure process. These scholars often also engage in interdisciplinary work that is more difficult to assess and might be charged with being "biased" for researching their own communities. Part 2 ("The Politics of Teaching") focuses on pedagogy, where Chan shares her experience teaching verbal and composition skills to limited English proficient (LEP) students. Debunking stereotypes, she reminds readers that LEP students at the University of California are bright (having met stringent UC admissions standards) and stresses the importance of creating comfortable classrooms that facilitate LEP student learning. Included in this section is her essay "On the Ethnic Studies Requirement" (1989), which details with great acumen the challenges of teaching ethnic studies courses when the majority of students are non-Asian American and who might resent having to take an ethnic studies course. Part 3 ("Empowering Ourselves") details the various power levels in the university that can be used to advance Asian American issues. While she acknowledges that some earlier critics have charged these writings as being too accommodating, Chan clearly outlines her strategy to change the institution from within, and she advises readers to be selective about the battles they wage. …