"Has Asian American Studies Failed?" PAAFF 2019 Conference
In 2012, Timothy Yu published a short article entitled “Has Asian American Studies Failed?” In it, he argued that—although Asian American Studies is now an established and increasingly robust academic field—it has largely failed “in our goal of shifting the racial discourse around Asians in the United States.” He stated that Asian Americanists needed to take their work to the public: to be advocates and “cultural first responders” who popularized the field’s insights. In concluding, he asserted that Linsanity gave Asian American Studies scholars an opening to reach “mainstream” audiences, and that we needed to run with this opportunity. Now that seven years have passed, it is time for us to take stock. What has changed, and what hasn’t?
