October 6, 2010
Written by C.N.
Links & Announcements #31
Here are some more announcements and links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents.
Mochi Magazine: Empowering Asian American Girls
Mochi Magazine is a new online magazine specifically for Asian American teen girls! . . . Society has come a long way in its representation of Asians, but we still have a ways to go. Even today, Asian representation in film mostly consists of martial arts flicks with the same actors, and the Asian American identity is completely overlooked.
However, coming to terms with “Asian American†– the convergence despite all odds of two or more vastly different cultures – can be more difficult than learning our parents’ mother tongues or Tae Kwon Do. “Asian American,†in fact, is an identity apart from the terms “Asian†and “American†– it is the space between the two words that we struggle with. . . . We envisioned Mochi as the older sister you never had, who could answer all of those simple but essential fashion and beauty questions. We imagined a supportive resource in the exploration of Asian American identities. At the very least, we hoped that Mochi would serve as a good conversation starter. . . .
What was once a mere idea is now a full-fledged publication with over forty talented and passionate staff members. In witnessing the growth of Mochi, we have learned a lot about you – ambitious, smart, multi-talented and curious girls – and, consequently, ourselves. And as Mochi continues to grow and reach out to more girls like you, we hope to keep learning.
Asian American Women in Leadership Conference
Asian Sister Participating in Reaching Excellence (ASPIRE) is pleased to present the 2010 Asian American Women In Leadership (AAWIL) Conference on October 16th, 2010 celebrating the theme of “Discovering the Leader Within.”
The 2010 AAWIL Conference aims to encourage attendees to explore, learn, and flourish. This conference will challenge and support Asian American women to take a leap. Speakers will share their experiences on how they were able to discover themselves through new inspirations and experiences which allowed for change in their lives.
The Asian American Women in Leadership (AAWIL) Conference was started to set forth strategic dialogue on the importance of leadership for Asian American girls and women. Specifically, the conference is designed to: explore various aspects of leadership, particularly as it relates to Asian American women, evaluate the effectiveness of different leadership skills and styles, energize and equip attendees to seek out future leadership opportunities, create cross-generational networks among attendees that will extend discussions and relationships beyond the scope of the conference, and raise awareness about ASPIRE, its missions and value to Asian American girls and women. It is also the only conference for Asian American women of all ages on the east coast. Historically, our audience has ranged from high school students to professionals in their mid 30s. So far, we have been able to attract 150-200 attendees every year.
This year, the conference theme is “Discovering the Leader Within.” It will build upon last year’s theme of “Fearless Leadership: Taking Charge with Confidence” and aims to encourage attendees to explore, learn, and flourish. The conference will be held on October 16th, 2010 at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. All the information can be found online.
Volunteers Needed for Voting Rights Monitoring
Asian American Election Protection and Poll Monitoring: Defending Asian American Voting Rights
General Elections — Tuesday, November 2, 2010. In past elections, Asian Americans have faced a series of barriers in exercising their right to vote. For example, poll workers were hostile and made racist remarks, poll sites had too few interpreters to assist Asian American voters, translated voting materials were missing or hidden from voters, and ballots were mistranslated listing Democratic candidates as Republicans, and vice versa. When the news media reported on election returns and the vote by specific groups, Asian Americans were often overlooked.
In response, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund has conducted a non-partisan survey of Asian American voters to document Asian American voting patterns. AALDEF has also monitored the elections for compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act, which mandates bilingual ballots and forbids anti-Asian voter discrimination.
On November 2, 2010, AALDEF and several other Asian American groups will be monitoring the elections and conducting non-partisan voter surveys at polling sites in Asian American neighborhoods in at least ten states. We need your help.
In 2008, over 1,000 volunteers polled more than 16,000 Asian American voters in eleven states. Volunteers are needed to administer a multilingual voter survey in 3-hour shifts and document voting problems on Election Day. Polls are generally open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. There will be a one and a half hour training session for all volunteers. All volunteers must be non-partisan during the time that they help. To sign up, go to www.aaldef.net. Thank you!
For more information, contact:
Irene Jeon
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
99 Hudson Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10013
800-966-5946
info@aaldef.org
Call for Papers: Asian American Literature & Food
Asian American Literature: Discourses and Pedagogies
Special Issue on “Teaching Food and Foodways in Asian American Literature and Popular Culture”
Special Issue Guest Editor, Eileen Chia-Ching FungThe topic of food has been a significant cultural icon for Asian American literature, films and other popular cultural venues and has gained increasing visibility in the mainstream publishing market and public media in recent years. This special issue invites scholars and writers to discuss how to approach teaching food and foodways within the contexts of Asian American literary, film, and cultural studies.
While the tropes of food and eating engage in complex sets of negotiations of individual, familial and communal definitions, they also invoke questions about Orientalism, internalized colonialism, commodification, and consumption. This issue aims to explore the social, political, and cultural paradigms generated by Asian American food narratives. We are especially interested in pedagogical works that explore ways to teach food writing, media representation, and popular culture about food.
These are some suggested questions and themes:
- What are some characteristics and narrative strategies of Asian American food writings?
- How does one teach analyses of eating and cooking as Asian American literary tropes?
- How can one incorporate Asian American food memoirs, cookbooks or food shows as part of the Asian American Studies discourse and/or Asian American cultural studies curriculum?
- What is the relationship between Asian American food texts and other American food narratives?
- How do race, ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality shape food writing?
- How can we explore themes of food tourism, food ethnography, food pornography, and food colonialism?
- How does one offer critical readings and pedagogical strategies of teaching Asian/Asian American food writers, cooks, articles, or celebrities in multi-media including films, television, internet (i.e. blogs), and other public spaces?
All articles must be under 10,000 words, with a preference for shorter articles of 2,000-7,000 words. Please follow the most current MLA format. Inquiries for this Special Issue may be addressed to Dr. Eileen Chia-Ching Fung at fung@usfca.edu. Full final articles must be submitted by October 15, 2010 to http://onlinejournals.sjsu.edu/index.php/AALDP/index.