Events

Asian America Across the Disciplines Series Spring 2021 presents  Asian American Activism; Pan-Ethnicity; Education in conversation with Wei Chen, Civic Engagement Coordinator at Asian Americans United.

Wei Chen, Civic Engagement Coordinator at Asian Americans United.

Since 1985, Asian Americans United exists so that people of Asian ancestry in Philadelphia exercise leadership to build their communities and unite to challenge oppression. AAU sees the right to culture as a human right. AAU’s arts and culture work creates social change through engaging community members in realizing community members’ inherent artistic and creative potential and building pride in cultural heritage.

Hosted by ASAM and ASAM 104-401Asian American Communities.

Panelists: 

• Camille Charles, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor, Sociology, Graduate School of Education, and the Center for Africana Studies; and faculty co-director of the Office of Penn First Plus, University of Pennsylvania
• Amalia Z, Dache, Assistant Professor, School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
• James Earl Davis, Professor, College of Education and Human Development, Temple University
• Valerie Swain-Cade McCoullum, Vice Provost for Student Engagement, University of Pennsylvania
• Brian Peterson, Director of the Makuu Black Cultural Center, University of Pennsylvania

Asian America Across the Disciplines Series Spring 2021 presents Asian American Cinema and other Cultural Movements in conversation with Phil Chan, Director of Programming for IVY

Phil Chan is a co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface, and most recently served as the Director of Programming for IVY, connecting young professionals with leading American museums and performing arts institutions. He is a graduate of Carleton College and an alumnus of the Ailey School. As a writer, he served as the Executive Editor for FLATT Magazine and contributed to Dance Europe Magazine, Dance Magazine, Dance Business Weekly, and The Huffington Post. He was the founding General Manager of the Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival, and was the General Manager for Armitage Gone! Dance and Youth America Grand Prix. He served multiple years on the National Endowment for the Arts dance panel and the Jadin Wong Award panel presented by the Asian American Arts Alliance. He serves on the Leaders of Color steering committee at Americans for the Arts, the International Council for the Parsons Dance Company, and the Advisory Board of Dance Magazine. He is the author of Final Bow for Yellowface: Dancing between Intention and Impact, and a 2020 New York Public Library Dance Research Fellow.

In this lecture, Chan will provide a primer on the complex conversation around authenticity and appropriation through the lens of Asian American media advocacy. Topics will include the history of yellowface on stage and screen, negative stereotyping, Hollywood whitewashing, cultural appropriation, and media activism. We will also be joined by Phil Chan, co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface, an organization committed to eliminating outdated and offensive stereotypes of Asians on stage, whose particular focus is ballet companies.

Hosted by ASAM and ASAM 110-301 Asian American Activism

Against the Grain Spring Speaker Series presents "Histories of Immigration Exclusion and Asian American Racializations" by Debanuj DasGupta, Assistant Professor of Feminist Studies at UCSB.

Asian America Across the Disciplines Spring Series 2021 presents Second Generation Asian Americans; Vietnamese Americans in conversation with Lan Dinh and Duong Ly, members of VietLead.

VietLead is a grassroots community organization in Philadelphia and South Jersey that is creating a vision and strategy for community self-determination, social justice, and cultural resilience. We are staffed and led by community members with collectively over 25 years serving our community and are committed to working from love and solidarity. Our community programs include intergenerational farming, youth organizing, health navigation & healing, civic engagement and community defense. We do this through a Heal.Resist.Grow. framework that focuses a pathway to healing trauma in our communities, contesting for power to make systemic change, policy advocacy/campaign, and growing community-based solutions.

Hosted by ASAM and ASAM 104-401Asian American Communities.

Join Heather Moqtaderi, Assistant Director / Curator for a discussion on the Many Voices, Many Visions exhibition Many Voices, Many Visions in 12-minutes flat!

PRESCHOOL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AND HIGH SCHOOL

Panelists: Vivian Gadsden, William T. Carter Professor of Child Development and Education, University of Pennsylvania, Janel George, Senior Policy Advisor, The Learning Policy Institute, Leah Gillion, Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Jessie Harper, Assistant Dean, Faculty Affairs and Diversity, School of Education, University of Pennsylvania

The 2021 Global Genomics and Health Equity Virtual Symposium provides a forum that brings into focus the importance and challenges of increasing ethnic diversity in human genomics research. Highlights of the symposium include bringing together key players in human genetics with expertise working in ethnically diverse populations. This year’s two-day event is sponsored by the Penn Center for Global Genomics & Health Equity and the Department of Genetics at Penn.

Day 1: February 24, 2021 (12:00 - 4:00PM US Eastern Time)
Theme: Importance and Value of Increasing Ethnic Diversity in Human Genomics Research

Day 2: February 25, 2021 (12:00 - 4:00PM US Eastern Time)
Theme: Challenges with Conducting Genomic Studies in Minority Populations

What do we actually mean when we say "mental health"? What does mental wellness--and unwellness--look and feel like here at Penn? And how do we identify and address our mental health needs? Join Dr. Mimi Khúc (Georgetown University) for an interactive discussion on redefining mental health through the lens of our experiences here at Penn, especially right now during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, we will identify forces that shape mental health for our various communities at Penn, and for Asian Americans in particular, and begin brainstorming how to collectively build towards the kinds of mental health we want and need.

POLICING AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Panelists: Monica Bell, Associate Professor of Law and Sociology, Yale University, Rashawn Ray, Professor of Sociology and Executive Director of the Lab for Applied Social Science Research, University of Maryland, David Rudovsky, Senior Fellow, Law School, University of Pennsylvania, Vesla Weaver, Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Political Science and Sociology, Johns Hopkins