AAAS Spring Scholarships Open! APPLY TODAY

All AAAS department scholarships are OPEN for applications through the BeachScholarships website. Each year, deserving AAAS students are not eligible for scholarships because they did not apply to BeachScholarships — so make sure you do, by March 13th!

Apply for the following AAAS Department scholarships:

Follow these steps to Apply:

  1. First, Access the BeachScholarships app through Single-Sign On
  2. Complete all the questions on the General Application. It is important to be as thorough as possible.
  3. Once you have completed your general application you will be able to search for individuals scholarships.
  4. You are all set! You can now start applying.

*Please keep in mind, the following scholarships are listed under the name Asian and Asian American Studies (AAAS) Department Scholarships: Best Paper in Asian Studies, Best Paper in Asian American Studies, Lloyd T. Inui Prize, Taiwan Essay Contest.

The deadline to submit all scholarship applications is March 13, 2022.

If you have any questions about applying for these scholarships feel free to contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office by opening a ticket or calling (562) 985-5471, option #4.

Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Summer Enrichment Program 2022

The Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Summer Enrichment Program is a six-week summer program designed to provide undergraduate students with a deeper appreciation of current issues and trends in international affairs, a greater understanding of career opportunities in international affairs, and the enhanced knowledge and skills to pursue such careers. The Program usually selects participants (known as “Rangel Scholars”) each year from universities throughout the United States. This program encourages the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, women, and those with financial need. Students live at Howard University, attend classes, and participate in a variety of programs with foreign affairs professionals at Howard and at diverse locations around Washington, DC.

The Program has two major components. First, in order to enhance participants’ academic preparation to work in international affairs, the Program provides two courses and a seminar that focuses on enhancing knowledge and skills related to U.S. foreign policy, economics, and writing. In addition, in order to provide greater insight into the foreign policy-making process and international affairs careers, the Rangel Program introduces the participants to a wide range of government and non-government professionals who work on global issues and also arranges visits to various institutions involved in international affairs. The Program also helps students explore graduate school, scholarship, fellowship, internship, and professional options in international affairs.

The Program covers the costs for tuition, travel, housing, and two meals per day. It also provides a stipend of $3,300.

For more information and to apply click here.

In Memoriam: Remembering Dr. Tianwei (Tim) Xie and Prof. Lloyd Inui

With deep sadness, AAAS announces the passing of two Professors Emeriti who shaped the department with their teaching, scholarship, activism, and service. They are deeply missed and lovingly remembered by generations of students and colleagues for their brilliance, kindness, and generosity. 

Dr. Tianwei (Tim) Xie, Professor Emeritus of Chinese Studies

Professor Emeritus of Chinese Studies and former AAAS department chair Tianwei (Tim) Xie passed away on September 12, 2021.     

Professor Xie received his BA in Russian Language and Literature in 1967 and MA in Linguistics in 1980, both from Shanghai Foreign Language University (now Shanghai International Studies University – SISU). He graduated from the University of Pittsburg with a Ph.D. in Foreign Language Pedagogy in 1992. He joined the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies (AAAS) at CSULB in 1999 after teaching Chinese at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of San Francisco, and the University of California at Davis. Dr. Xie retired in 2013.   

After he joined AAAS, he devoted his research to (online) teaching technology and published numerous papers and book chapters on how to apply modern computer aided teaching (CAT) technology to the learning/teaching of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL). In the process, he founded the popular website “Learning Chinese Online” that attracted millions of visitors. Upon retirement, he generously donated the website to our university and it is still managed by AAAS.

Dr. Xie was actively involved in various academic organizations and professional service.  He served as the Chair of SAT in Chinese, Chair of the Chinese Language Teachers’ Association of Southern California (CLTA-SC), and the Editor of the Newsletter of Chinese Language Teachers Association. He touched lives of many in Shanghai (China), in the Bay Area and here in Southern California with his joy and enthusiasm for lifelong learning. He cherished the well-being of his students and colleagues. 

Prof. Lloyd Inui, Professor Emeritus of Asian American Studies

Photo Credit: JANM

Professor Emeritus Lloyd Inui, the founding member and chair of the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies, passed away on Tuesday, September 28, 2021.  

Professor Inui came to CSULB in 1965 and retired in 1992. He and his family were incarcerated during WWII in Heart Mountain, Wyoming. He came to CSULB after studying Political Science with an emphasis on Asia-U.S. relations at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. He served as a faculty advisor for student activists at CSULB following the Third World Strikes of 1968-1969 at San Francisco State College and UC Berkeley. Under Professor Inui’s mentorship, students taught the first Asian American Studies course at CSULB in Fall 1969. Professor Inui served as the first director of Asian American Studies, as the first department chair of AAAS, and in numerous Japanese/Asian American community organizations. After retiring, Professor Inui volunteered for several decades at the Japanese American National Museum and continued to support AAAS, Ethnic Studies, CLA, and CSULB. 

Professor Emerita Yoko Pusavat, who served as AAAS Vice Chair, undergraduate advisor, and was instrumental in creating the Japanese BA and credential programs remembered:

Sorrowfully we are a bit emptier today for the loss of Professor Emeritus Lloyd Inui. He was a great colleague and trusted friend nearly 40 years. Now the past has become foremost significant to me.  

The Department of Asian and Asian American Studies was created thanks to Professor Lloyd Inui. He laid a foundation of the Department and led to form the department which includes programs of Asian American Studies, Asian Studies, and Asian Languages. Language programs connected Asian Studies and Asian American Studies. No other higher institutes in USA had the department structured such as AAAS.   

Professor Inui was the one who has made a difference to the world around him and on campus community.”

Teacher, scholar, activist, and mentor extraordinaire, Professor Inui guided and shaped Asian American Studies in academia, public education, and community practice for over 50 years, as remembered by former students and colleagues in Rafu Shimpo. 

You can watch this Profile of Asian American Studies pioneer, Lloyd Inui, excerpted from the 2013 documentary, Unexpected Journeys: Remarkable Stories of Japanese in America, produced by the Japanese American National Museum.


Photo Credit: Rafu Shimpo
2015 CSULB Asian American Studies (AAS) Reunion


Photo Credit: Dr. San-Pao Li
In July 2020, Dr. San-Pao Li, Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies and Chinese Studies, drove to Professor Inui’s house the day after Governor Newsom signed the bill requiring ethnic studies requirement at the CSU. Dr. Li viewed this as a legacy of Dr. Inui’s struggle and lifelong support for Asian American Studies and Ethnic Studies.

CSULB College of Liberal Arts Magazine, ASPIRE

The CSULB College of Liberal Arts just released the inaugural issue of its annual magazine, Aspire. This issue features several faculty and students from the Department of Asian & Asian American Studies, including: Dr. Barbara Kim discussing the development and importance of the new Ethnic Studies GE requirement; Dr. Haiping Wu receiving tenure and being promoted to Associate Professor; welcoming Dr. May Lin and Dr. Sophea Seng as new TT faculty, and highlighting graduate student Yedda Zhang as one of CLA’s new cohort of Equity Scholars.

Feel free to check out this issue of Aspire by clicking the link here!

Internship Opportunity: CAUSE Fall Internship Application Deadline 9/13

Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE), a community-based, nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the political and civic empowerment of the Asian Pacific American community.

CAUSE is now accepting applications for our 10-week, paid, undergraduate internship opportunity this fall.

CAUSE FALL INTERNSHIP OVERVIEW

  • DURATION: 10 weeks (Preferred dates: Monday, September 20th – Friday, December 10th, 2021); 10 hours a week
  • STIPEND: ~$1,500 (upon satisfactory completion of program)
  • HOW TO APPLY: Applications due by Monday, September 13th. Submit a cover letter and resume to thalia@causeusa.org. Please include your name and “2021 Fall Internship Application” in the subject line.
  • INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTION: Link to full description
    • Key responsibilities would include developing and executing outreach plans and materials, drafting press releases and blogs, social media management, researching policies, and attending staff meetings.

You can find the full details of the opportunity on the CAUSE website.

Welcome Dr. Sophea Seng, Assistant Professor in Asian American Studies

The Department of Asian & Asian American Studies welcomes Dr. Sophea Seng, Assistant Professor in Asian American Studies!

A decade after beginning her master’s program at CSULB, Sophea Seng is returning to campus this fall to join the faculty in the Asian and Asian American Studies department. Seng, a first-generation student, got her bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Italian Language at UC Santa Cruz. After graduating, she taught in Fukushima as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching program before starting a master’s program at CSULB in Asian American Studies.

She has just completed her doctorate in Anthropology and master’s in South Eastern Asian studies at UC Riverside. She won an Outstanding Teacher Award in 2018, an honor determined by the vote of students. Seng is excited to return to Long Beach because the city has the largest Cambodian diaspora outside of Southeast Asia. While she was studying for her master’s at CSULB, Seng built relationships with various members of the community and taught English to senior citizens studying for their citizenship test. “I’m really excited to be able to be back at Long Beach and also to be able to continue to build those bridges and create opportunities for students,” Seng says.

From 2019 to 2020, Seng was a Fulbright scholar in Italy. She conducted research at the only Cambodian Buddhist temple in Italy, bringing together her studies of the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Unfortunately, the fellowship was cut short by the pandemic. Seng whose expertise is in Cambodian diaspora, South East Asian studies and critical refugee studies, hopes to bring her international experiences, as well as her life experiences, to the students of CSULB.

This fall semester, Seng will be teaching the new required ethnic studies course. She looks forward to connecting with her future students and “being able to use those experiences to help another generation.”

(Interview Source: CSULB College of Liberal Arts)

Welcome Dr. May Lin, Assistant Professor in Asian American Studies

The Department of Asian & Asian American Studies welcomes Dr. May Lin, Assistant Professor in Asian American Studies!

May is a community-rooted researcher and educator who supports transformative social change led by communities of color. She has worked with Long Beach and California-based Southeast Asian, other Asian American, Black and Latinx youth-led organizations such as Californians for Justice, Khmer Girls in Action, Gender and Sexualities Alliance Network, and Yo! Cali.  In over 15 collaborative research reports, she has helped capture the impact of youth-led campaigns on issues such as mental health needs of youth of color in schools; gender neutral restrooms in Long Beach Unified; intersectional aspects of Relationship Centered Schools; and police-free schools. Her scholarly work has focused on how Asian American, Black, and Latinx youth harness emotions to redefine and expansively enact social change, and future work will support local efforts around People’s Budgets. She has published research on Asian American, immigrant, and youth of color-led social change in in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Sociological Perspectives, and Health Affairs.  

Previously, May was a postdoctoral fellow at the Social Movement Support Lab at University of Denver’s Interdisciplinary Research Institute for the Study of (In)Equality, where she supported organizations that work to reallocate funding from criminalization towards positive social supports. There, she also worked on the project defunddata.org. She is also affiliated faculty with USC’s Equity Research Institute, where she worked as a graduate researcher. She received her PhD in Sociology, with a certificate in Public Policy, from the USC, and her MA in Asian American Studies from UCLA.  

At CSULB, she is excited to learn from students & collaborate with students and other faculty to support local racial justice campaigns, as well as to cultivate students’ diverse talents in ways that enrich their personal and community hopes & dreams. She is excited to teach Comparative Ethnic and Asian American Studies with an intersectional lens towards difference and coalition building. Her personal website is at www.mayhlin.com  

AAPI Drop-In Virtual Support Space (CAPS)

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is providing “drop-in” virtual space each week for Asian and Asian American students. While this space is not intended to be therapy, it is a support space to share resources, learn skills, and ways to support overall student wellness. Based on interest, some weeks may feature specific topics for discussion. 

This space will be provided Tuesdays from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Flyer for this event can be downloaded here: Fall 2021 AAPI Drop-in Space Flyer.

CLICK HERE to visit the CAPS Website.

Congratulations Chuc Bui for Organizing the Summer 2021 Online Vietnamese Language Methodology Course

Congratulations and thank you to Chuc Bui and KimOanh Nguyen-Lam (formerly of CSULB College of Education) for co-facilitating a very successful Online Vietnamese Language Methodology Course in July 2021! The course attracted 500 participants from around the world and received a Certificate of Recognition from Senator Thomas Umberg.

Dr. John Jung, Professor Emeritus of Psychology (April 2, 1937-July 26, 2021)

Dr. John Jung, Professor Emeritus of Psychology (April 2, 1937-July 26, 2021)

The Department of Asian and Asian American Studies honors the memory of Dr. John Jung, friend and colleague. After retirement, Dr. Jung began exploring and writing about his ethnic identity and experience growing up in Macon, Georgia where his family – the only Chinese Americans in town – owned and operated a laundry before the civil rights era. Through positive feedback and encounters with other Chinese Americans who also grew up “outside of places where there were many Chinese,” he became a prolific researcher, author, and storyteller of early Chinese American history.
 
You can find more about his legacy, and contributions: