Mission Statement and Land Acknowledgement
The Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate is an interdisciplinary program that provides students with (1) a thorough understanding of both Asian and Asian American histories, experiences, and contemporary issues and (2) multi-disciplinary and multi-method research, analysis, and critical thinking skills, both of which prepare students for the increasingly diverse, globalized, and interconnected world of the 21st century.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst acknowledges that it was founded and built on the unceded homelands of the Pocumtuc Nation on the land of the Norrwutuck community.
We begin with gratitude for nearby waters and lands. We recognize these lands and waters as important Relations with which we are all interconnected and depend on to sustain life and wellbeing. The Pocumtuc had connections with these lands for millennia. Over 400 years of colonization, when Pocumtuc Peoples were displaced, many joined their Algonquian relatives to the east, south, west and north. That includes Mashpee and Aquinnah Wampanoag, Nipmuc, Narragansett, Mohegan, Pequot, Mohican, communities and Abenaki and other nations of the Wabanaki Confederacy. These Native peoples still maintain connections and relationships of care for these lands today. We also acknowledge that the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a Land Grant University. As part of the Morrill Land Grant Act, portions of land from 82 Native Nations west of the Mississippi were sold to provide the resources to found and build this university.
As an active first step toward decolonization, we encourage you to learn more about the Native Nations whose homelands UMass Amherst now resides on and the Indigenous homelands on which you live and work. We also invite you to deepen your relationship to these living lands and waters.
Statement of Solidarity with Pro-Palestine Protesters
The Asian and Asian American Studies Certificate Program (AAASCP) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst is writing to express our solidarity with and support for the UMass community who are standing against the genocide taking place in Palestine. We were appalled and offended to learn of the events that occurred on the night of May 7th, 2024. No individual should ever have to face police brutality and armed law enforcement for exercising their constitutional right to peacefully protest, and the UMass community should never have to experience our security and welfare being jeopardized and threatened by the decisions of the leaders we should be able to trust.
We commend the brave students, faculty, staff, and community members who firmly stood up for what they believe in, and we condemn Chancellor Javier Reyes for his administrative decisions that, in no way whatsoever, reflect the AAASCP's values. We welcome peaceful protest, and all the more encourage the uplifting of the voices that are too frequently unheard and suppressed. Given that the AAASCP was built on the legacies of protests against the Viet Nam War, activism to build ethnic studies, and dreams for Asian and Asian American representation in academic spaces and on campus, we understand all too well the importance of fighting to be seen and heard. We hope to use our platform to further reiterate our condemnation of the active harm and violence inflicted by the current UMass Amherst administration and publicly condoned and rationalized by the President's Office and Trustees. They failed in their legal obligation to protect our students and faculty, and we stand alongside the many other undergraduate registered student organizations (RSOs), student businesses, and academic departments and programs on campus that have also condemned such behavior.
As history has shown us, transformational change and progress cannot be made without defending what is right and just, and it is extremely important that our right to free speech and peaceful assembly not be threatened by the fear of violence. We will continue to advocate for a safe campus environment where all are empowered to use their voices. We fully stand behind the belief that institutions of learning must remain places where positively changing the world is possible. As Yuri Kochiyama said, "we are all part of one another."
Click here for Resources to Deal with Anti-Asian Hate and How to Support the Asian & Asian American Community
What's New
Like many programs on our own campus and throughout the nation, the AAASCP is still dealing with the ongoing societal and global challenges that affect student engagement and programmatic interest. Nonetheless, we were able to collaborate with numerous departments and offices on important programs and activities and graduated three students who completed the Certificate:
- Elizabeth (Libby) Graves (Sociology)
- Sophia Nguyen (Honors College / Psychology)
- Jessica Wong (Finance)
Senior Seminar capstone project presentation event, May 10, 2024
Libby, Sophia, and Jessica worked extremely hard throughout all of their courses and on their respective Senior Seminar capstone projects. Completing the Certificate is an important accomplishment that they should definitely feel proud of, particularly given the challenges of these last few years. It is students like these who sustain the AAASCP and help make it vibrant and dynamic. We wish them the best of luck as they graduate, start the next chapter of their educational journey or their careers, and bring their knowledge and wisdom to their own communities.
The 2023-2024 year included many other highlights. Internally, we bid farewell to one of our two undergraduate program assistants, Sabrina Chan, as she transferred to another college to pursue her academic goals. We also welcomed Nicky Tran to take her place, joining our returning program assistant Alicia Chhung. Alicia and Nicky have already proven themselves to be energetic, self-motivated, and organized student-workers who are committed to building community and maximizing the success of the AAASCP and I am thrilled to benefit from their enthusiasm and hard work.
This past academic year was the first in which the AAASCP’s new reduced course requirements were in effect (the number of courses required to complete the Certificate was reduced from eight to six courses, as approved by the Faculty Senate and the Provost last academic year). Through the years, the 8-course requirement has been consistently cited by students as the most significantly barrier that prevented them from seriously considering completing the Certificate. Now that the number has been reduced to just six courses, we are very hopeful and confident that the AAASC will be more attractive to prospective students.
As part of the AAASCP's ongoing work on supporting Asian and Asian American faculty on campus, in the 2022-2023 year, we were awarded a Campus Climate Improvement grant by the UMass Amherst Office of Equity and Inclusion to organize a multi-day "Asian and Asian American Cultural Festival" that celebrates the history, experiences, diversity, and unity among the Asian and Asian American (A&AA) community at UMass Amherst by forging closer collaborative relationships between A&AA undergrad students, grad students, staff, faculty, offices, and programs and building a stronger sense of community for not just A&AAs, but the entire campus community. As part of this grant, the AAASCP was very proud to work in collaboration with the Center for Multicultural Advancement and Student Success (CMASS), the Yuri Kochiyama Cultural Center (YKCC), and the Asian and Asian American Defined Residential Community.
The first event in this cultural festival was a "Fall Kick-Off and Celebration of Asian Food" luncheon event on October 6, 2023, held in the lobby of the Fine Arts Center, organized in conjunction with UMass Dining Services. The event was an amazing success with close to 170 members of the UMass Amherst community in attendance. Participants enjoyed delicious award-winning cuisine specially prepared by Dining Services, received materials and other swag from the AAASCP, and engaged in organized discussions about balancing unity and diversity and related personal experiences within the A&AA community. We were very gratified to hear so many positive comments and thanks from attendees for organizing this event and providing a welcoming space for the UMass community to come together.
The second day of this Asian and Asian American Cultural Festival was envisioned as an art exhibition featuring different forms of artwork by A&AA undergrad and grad students, staff, and faculty on the UMass Amherst campus and was planned for the Spring 2024 semester. However, due to various challenges, we transitioned to the final form for the art exhibition, namely an online spotlight and showcase and the posts can be seen on our Instagram account. While the final from of this art exhibition was not quite what we hoped for, it was the best that we could so given the situation. Ultimately, we are very proud of our efforts to spotlight the work of several Asian and Asian American artists and to contribute to enlightening the UMass community about the value and beauty of artistic expression within the A&AA community.
Throughout the 2023-2024 year, the AAASCP was very proud to co-sponsor and/or collaborate with other programs on bringing the following speakers to the UMass campus:
- Sirintip (Thai-Swedish multimodal artist), Oct. 3, 2023, "Carbon: A Conversation On Environmental Arts Activism"
- Franny Choi (poet and essayist), Oct. 31, 2023, "A Conversation with Asian American Studies Scholars"
- Q.M. Zhang (former faculty at Hampshire College), Nov. 14, 2023, "Writing in Proximity to History: A Memoryworks Workshop"
- Rebecca Rusch and Huyen Nguyen (activists and filmmakers), Nov. 28, 2023, screening of the Emmy Award-winning documentary entitled "Blood Road" (in conjunction with the Ellsberg Institute for Peace and Democracy and History Department)
- Martin Manalansan (Rutgers University), April 16, 2024, "Hope in Sunless Worlds: Queer Reflections on Immigrant Homes"
Each of these events were important opportunities for participants to share their academic/professional expertise and personal experiences with the audience, and to reinforce our commitment to collaborating with and mutually supporting diverse programs and communities that are facing many political, economic, and cultural challenges. In connecting what we teach in the classroom to address real-world challenges, we honor and reinforce the power of higher education to make a meaningful difference in the everyday lives of vulnerable members of the community.
To build on the success and momentum of the Asian and Asian American Cultural Festival, the AAASCP was also very pleased to receive another grant from the Office for Equity and Inclusion to revive the UMass Amherst Asian & Asian American Film Festival. Through screenings and Q&A discussions of important films and their creators, this event will bring together students, faculty, staff, filmmakers, and community members from diverse backgrounds to celebrate the artistic expression of filmmaking and to promote open dialogue, civil discourse, and better understanding of important global and domestic political, economic, and social issues. Tentatively planned for the Fall 2024 semester, we hope to conduct this Asian & Asian American Film Festival over three days and to show three films that will be finalized soon. Previous Asian American Film Festivals in which the AAASPC has been involved have been very successful in bringing together attendees from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and generated very open and thoughtful dialogue among participants, so we hope to revise this structure to engage new participants and create new diverse discourse on critical global and domestic social issues.
A History of the Program
By the mid-1990s, three significant trends became increasingly prominent across many colleges around the U.S. -- (1) a recognition of the growing importance of globalized international affairs, particularly focused on Asia; (2) the political, economic, and cultural growth of the Asian American population; and (3) demographic trends and a large increase in the number of Asian and Asian American students enrolling in college. As a reflection of these developments, many students and scholars pushed for the expansion of Asian Studies and Asian American Studies at their campuses.
In the late 1990s, students at UMass Amherst engaged in numerous forms of activism, including protests and occupying the administration building, to demand the creation of an Asian American Studies program. Their efforts successfully culminated with the creation of a new joint undergraduate program in Asian and Asian American Studies in the spring of 2000. Since then, the Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate Program has graduated close to one hundred students from diverse personal and academic backgrounds who have gone on to apply their knowledge and skills in numerous careers and pursuits.
As U.S. society becomes more diverse, multicultural, and globalized, and in the context of the cultural and economic emergence of Asian countries such as China and India, the Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate gives students the opportunity to learn about the interconnections between two similar but unique sets of histories, cultures, and issues -- Asia and Asian America.
With course offerings and faculty specializing in numerous academic disciplines, the Certificate is designed to give students (1) an understanding of different Asian and Asian American ethnic groups and the range of historical, political, economic, demographic, and cultural issues related to their experiences and (2) interdisciplinary and multi-method research and learning skills to communicate and collaborate across cultures. In turn, these skills will give the student a competitive advantage in both their studies at UMass and in whatever career they enter once they graduate.
Please refer to the menu on the right for links to more information about the Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate, including requirements to complete the certificate, frequently asked questions, and an updated listing of courses that count toward the certificate. For additional information, please contact:
C.N. Le, Director
Senior Lecturer II, Department of Sociology
Thompson Hall 916
Email:
For an updated listing of upcoming talks, events, and other activities related to the Certificate program, remember to check out and 'like' our Facebook and Instagram pages.
