Diverse has just come out with a fascinating article about Harvard University's inability to grant an Asian American Studies program. Asian Canadian Studies needs to follow the American model, and heed the same warnings and roadblocks that still faces the Asian American Studies curriculum today. Will we face the same institutional stigma and barriers as our cousins down south? Here's an excerpt of the article:During the 1980s, Asian American students at Harvard University staged a noisy protest petitioning the university to hire an Asian American studies professor. Hundreds of student signatures were collected. No professors were hired.
Twenty years later, Asian American students at Harvard University are still protesting for a permanent Asian American studies professor and ultimately a full-fledged Asian American Studies concentration.
Student advocacy related to the issue has surged and subsided over the years but never disappeared. As Harvard University continues to stress its commitment to diversity, student groups such the Asian American Association are becoming increasingly anxious.
Yuting P. Chiang, co-chair of the Asian American Association education and politics committee, told Harvard’s student newspaper, “Harvard prides itself on its diversity, but there’s a huge gap in discussion on Asian American Studies.”
Professors say undergraduate advocates have failed to provide the steady pressure needed for change in Asian American studies, and, according to members of the Asian American Association, the administration also doubts the program will lure many students to the field. Another significant complaint among faculty is that the school does not have the appropriate funds or resources to institute a full Asian American Studies concentration.
Harvard University’s course guide for this academic year lists only four Asian American Studies courses – all of them taught by the same visiting professor, Eric Tang, from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Tang suggests that Harvard’s reluctance to develop an Asian American Studies program stems from its conservative curricular background
“Asian American Studies is an inherently political field; it’s a field born out of students’ struggle. It is not something that universities value. They don’t see it as essential to the core curriculum,” Tang says.
Phoebe Zen, a senior and the other co-chair of the committee, says, “For us, inclusion of Asian American Studies goes beyond just being a part of our identity; it’s an important part of academia that will give students what is necessary to help society progress in the future.
