Degree Year

2006

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Anthropology

Advisor(s)

Valentina Pagliai

Committee Member(s)

Linda Grimm, Chair
Theresa Mah

Keywords

Oberlin College, Activism, Students, Asian, Asian/Pacific, Pacific, Asian American, College, Alliance, Curriculum

Abstract

This thesis examines the issues that have become enmeshed in the body politic of the current generation of Asian/Pacific American student activists at Oberlin College. It discusses students' personal trials as they confront academic burnout, institutional amnesia, and a continued lack of support for A/PA studies, through a case study of activism in motion. Other aspects of this research include the role of identity in pan-ethnic Asian American community organizing, the power dynamics of identity and the strategic deployment of identity as a political tool (Lowe 1991, Espiritu 1992). In addition, the project highlights emerging concerns in the community and highlights the relationship between shifting membership and changes in admissions demographics. Examples of some of the new challenges that AAA faces are the difficulty of forming and maintaining new alliances, controversy within the community about the expansion of a focus on "Asian America" to one on "Asian/Pacific America," and the inclusion of South Asians within the movement.

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