U of MN Asian American Studies

09/08/2026

Happy First Day of School to you all, from your friends at Asian American Studies! We look forward to new year of classes, programs, and events!

08/26/2026

Please join us for a workshop facilitated by Dr. Tina Chen on alien forms of publishing, scholarly praxis, and academic labor.

Date: Friday, September 25
Time: 12 - 2:30PM CST
Location: The Liberal Arts Engagement Hub & Zoom
RSVP: z.umn.edu/TChenWorkshop

Join Approaching Global Asias for an exciting workshop by Dr. Tina Chen entitled "Reimagining Publishing and Scholarly Praxis: An Alien Forms Workshop"! This event is hybrid. Lunch will be provided at the in person session.

Tina Chen is interested in speculative fictions, the imaginable ageography of Global Asias, and the genres of academic labor. She was initially trained as an Asian Americanist but over the last decade, her work has focused on exploring the possibilities and limits of theorizing “Global Asias” as an epistemology and method that simultaneously recognizes and challenges the distinctions separating area studies and diaspora studies. As the founding editor of Verge: Studies in Global Asias, an award-winning journal that brings Asian studies, Asian American studies, and Asian diaspora studies into non-aligned relation, and the founding director of the PSU Global Asias Initiative, she is committed to developing platforms that encourage multidisciplinary engagement and the cross-pollination of knowledge across disciplinary and field boundaries. Chen recently published Global Asias: Tactics & Theories (2025), a collaborative project that serves as the inaugural volume of a new Global Asias book series with the University of Hawai’i Press, and her latest project, Alien Forms and Minor Genres: A Speculative Handbook of Academic Labor, is forthcoming from Duke UP in Fall 2026.

08/26/2026

The Approaching Global Asias Collaborative proudly presents our Annual Lecture featuring Dr. Tina Chen (English & Asian American Studies, Pennsylvania State University) entitled "Alien Form: Global Asias and Other Speculative Genres of Academic Labor".

Date: Thursday, September 24
Time: 5 - 7PM CST
Location: The Liberal Arts Engagement Hub & Zoom
RSVP: z.umn.edu/TChen

Note: Food and snacks will be provided at the in-person meeting.

Lecture Abstract: This talk examines how academia cultivates, manages, and rewards academic labor and argues that to develop more capacious forms of scholarly praxis, we need to embrace teaching, research, and service (TRS) as speculative genres. Examining these issues within the context of the multidisciplinary field of Global Asias, I propose alien form as a paradigm that makes visible how academic labor's incongruency with existing determinative definitions of TRS can open up new possibilities for remaking the institutional imperatives of the academic humanities. Like my forthcoming monograph (Alien Forms and Minor Genres, Duke UP 2026), I’ll be experimenting with form and structure and looking forward to collaborating with colleagues on how to harness the generative energies of generic friction in reimagining scholarly work.

08/10/2026

Please join us for a hybrid mini reading group “Foundations of Global Asias: Tactics and Theories” facilitated by the Approaching Global Asias Collaborative. The group will meet in-person and online on September 9, 16, and 21 from 2-3:30PM in Social Sciences Building 710.

Please RSVP at z.umn.edu/AGAReadingGroup!

07/09/2026

Professor Fajardo (Director of the Asian American Studies Program) is teaching this course in American Studies. If you’re an undergraduate student still looking for a fall course to add to your schedule, he welcomes your participation!

07/06/2026

A friendly reminder that our Graduate Summer Writing Retreat is happening on Thursday, July 23rd! Join us for some dedicated writing time, food, and community.

RSVP: z.umn.edu/AASWriting26

Join AAS for a one-day graduate student writing retreat this summer! This retreat includes dedicated time and space for writing, facilitated writing exercises and consultations, and opportunities to connect with other graduate students. In addition to the main classroom, there will be a separate quiet room.

Date: Thursday, ,July 23
Time: 9AM - 3PM
Location: Heller Hall, 1210

RSVP: z.umn.edu/AASwriting26

Breakfast and lunch will be provided. This event is free and open to UMN graduate students. Registration is required.

Questions? Please email [email protected]

06/10/2026

Community Event: Join folks for a moderated conversation on: The Things That Made Us: Family, Food, and Film with authors Curtis Chin and Jeff Yang as they discuss The Things That Made Us: Family, Food, and Film.

Set at XIA Books & Café, this special evening invites attendees into a thoughtful and lively conversation about the stories, memories, and cultural influences that shape identity and creative expression.

Come for an inspiring discussion, stay for the community, and enjoy an evening centered on family, food, and film.

Sunday, June 28, 2026 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM XIA Books & Café

05/27/2026

Join AAS for a one-day graduate student writing retreat this summer! This retreat includes dedicated time and space for writing, facilitated writing exercises and consultations, and opportunities to connect with other graduate students. In addition to the main classroom, there will be a separate quiet room.

Date: Thursday, ,July 23
Time: 9AM - 3PM
Location: Heller Hall, 1210

RSVP: z.umn.edu/AASwriting26

Breakfast and lunch will be provided. This event is free and open to UMN graduate students. Registration is required.

Questions? Please email [email protected]

05/18/2026

The Asian American Unity Coalition (AAUC) is holding their Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Unity Summit in Minneapolis and St. Paul from June 27-28. Register at the link below for a free and public Zoom info session to learn more about the Summit!

Zoom Info Session: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/3DcVNBF4RmWaARjLabwnMQ

Conference Info: www.aauc.us/summit2026/

05/14/2026

This event by Theater Mu is happening today!

Celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month with an evening of Asian American storytelling on May 14! ➙ theatermu.org/oops

OOPS, WE HAVE OPINIONS! is bursting with sharp humor, personal stories, and the first look at Mu's 2026/27 season. Make sure to bring a food donation for Keystone Community Services, and raise a pint to our partner, Urban Growler Brewing Company.