Cornell Asian American Studies Program

Home
United States
Ithaca, NY
Cornell Asian American Studies Program

Call Directions Website Contact the university

In the classroom, in scholarship, and through advocacy, AASP is committed to examining the histories and experiences of people of Asian ancestry in the U.S.

and other parts of the Americas. To donate, please visit: https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1717/.

09/29/2026

Hi everyone! We hope you are having a good start to the week.

This week’s is Translating Mo’um by Cathy Park Hong.

In her debut poetry collection, Hong explores the friction between her American and Korean identities. Drawing from her experiences translating for her first-generation Korean mother, she examines the complicated space between languages and the ways that communication can shape our understanding of family, culture, and self.

Throughout this book, Hong experiments with language and form to capture what can be lost, changed, or even created through translation. The collection reflects on the tension of living between linguistic and cultural worlds, showing how language can be both a source of connection and a reminder of distance.

As a Korean American, I thought this collection highlighted interesting aspects of Korean culture while encapsulating the experience of being a first-generation Asian American. My favorite poem in the collection is “Translating ‘Pagaji’” because of its interesting use of form and blanks to truly sum up the tricky nature of Korean words with double meanings!

If this poem or collection interests you, stop by the Asian American Resource Center (Rockefeller 422) to check it out and join the conversation.

- Chloe

05/04/2026

Hi everyone! For this week’s , I chose The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, which tells the story of the Great Migration, when Black Americans left the South between 1915 and 1970 in search of opportunity and freedom.

Instead of only explaining the Great Migration through facts and numbers, Wilkerson follows Ida Mae Brandon Gladney, who leaves Mississippi for Chicago; George Starling, who leaves Florida for New York; and Robert Foster, who leaves Louisiana for Los Angeles. Their stories show that migration was not just about moving to a new place, but about leaving behind home and familiarity in order to have more control over their own lives.

One of the biggest themes in the book is freedom and self-determination. Wilkerson shows how the Jim Crow South limited almost every part of Black life, including work, education, travel, housing, and safety. For many Black migrants, leaving was one of the only ways they could push back against a system that tried to control their futures. By leaving, they chose the possibility of a better life over staying in a place that denied them basic rights.

What stood out to me most is that Wilkerson does not make freedom seem simple. The North and West were not perfect, and migrants still faced racism, discrimination, and disappointment. But leaving still mattered; it was a way of saying they deserved more than survival and the chance to build their lives on their own terms.

I’ve had the pleasure of working at AASP for the past four years, and as a senior, this is my last Book of the Week. While the stakes of Wilkerson’s book are much greater than anything I have experienced as a student, I still reflected on the idea of pushing back against systems that shape our futures. At Cornell, it can feel like everyone is following the same competitive, career-focused path, where success is measured by internships, resumes, and future plans. This book reminded me that self-determination can also mean having the courage to imagine a different life for yourself. For students, the lesson is smaller, but still important: we should ask what kind of life we actually want, not just what kind we are told to pursue.

Thomas Kuo

04/20/2026

Hi everyone!! We hope you’re staying warm today in this recent bout of snow! This week’s is “The State of Illness & Disability in Asian America,” Amerasia Journal’s Volume 39, Number 1 Issue.

This issue of the Amerasia Journal was the first in the journal’s history to focus on disability and disability studies in Asian America. I picked up this book because I’m currently taking an course on Disability and Literature. We are currently reading the work of Alice Wong, an author featured in this collection. Wong’s work as an Asian American disability activist has shown me the ways that ableism intersects with other social issues, and that all issues are disability issues. Through narrative essays and scholarly research, this collection investigates further how disability is overlooked and rendered invisible in Asian American identity, particularly contrasted with constructions of the model minority, which center “ability” so much. Reading scholarship like this reminds me of the importance of interdisciplinary conversations and inter-group solidarity!

The AASP library hosts a variety of periodicals alongside our book collection, including the Amerasia Journal from as far back as the 1980s! Come check out our collection, study, or hang out with us up in 4th floor Rockefeller! The AASP Resource center is open from 9:30am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday.

04/07/2026

We hope everyone had a great spring break :) Today’s is “Good Girls Marry Doctors” by Piyali Bhattacharya. Relative to our recent Boba Talks on dating across cultures, this book contains a collection of narratives from South Asian American daughters on the gratitude they feel for their immigrant parents’ sacrifices, but also the intense pressure it creates to perform the role of the ‘perfect daughter.’ This book highlights the complicated emotional struggle of being a daughter to immigrant families and the internal and external strain it creates on familial bonds and self-discovery. Reading these stories resonated with my experience as one of three daughters to Asian immigrant parents. This book made me feel seen and helped me better understand my own experiences. Overall, a very emotional and touching read that I recommend!
The Asian American Studies Program is open for visitors Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm so come stop by! We have snacks, games, and also places to study :)

03/27/2026

We are excited to continue our BeComing Lunch Series with our third speaker Jonathan Lam! Join us for lunch and discussion on April 8 from 12-1pm at 429 Rockefeller Hall as we hear his story. Jonathan Lam (He/Him) is a junior in ILR, minoring in international relations, migration studies, law and society, and Asian American studies. As a child of Vietnamese refugees, he is passionate about advocating for refugee and migrant rights including anti-deportation efforts in the Southeast Asian community. On campus, he is the Co-President of Cornell ACLU, Cornell University Parole Initiative, and Co-Vice President of Cornell Anti-Detention Alliance. Beyond campus, he is a National Youth Activist with Amnesty International USA, a youth organizer with the ACLU of New York and Mekong NYC, and a UN Representative for the Migration Children and Youth Platform. He is a Cornell Meinig Family Scholar, 2024-2025 RFK Human Rights John Lewis Young Leader Fellow, and 2025 A3C Student Advocate of the Year Honorable Mention.

Lunch will be served, free and open to all! We strive to make our events accessible to everyone! For accommodation requests and information, please contact [email protected] or [email protected] as soon as possible. In person and Zoom options are available, pre-registration required for Zoom; link in our bio.

03/26/2026

Yesterday, we welcomed Jaimie Chen as our second Becoming Lunch Series speaker of the semester. We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Jaimie for another insightful and impactful BeComing talk!

Jaimie is a current senior studying hotel administration at Cornell, and the president of Asian Pacific Americans for Action (APAA), a political advocacy group on campus. Jaimie spoke about navigating her own intersectional identities as a q***r Asian woman from Atlanta, Georgia. Jaimie brought attention to the regional distinctions of the American South, including racial dynamics, the prevalence of religion and faith, and how leftist politics are rendered. She discussed how these differences have shaped her identity, and how they made her experience coming to Cornell, an elite Northeastern university, surprising. Jaimie shared the challenges she faced adapting to the pre-professional, “bubble”-like culture on campus, including the moral confrontations she’s had in the face of political apathy. She advised us to consider broader options in finding and forming community, connections that she found through APAA and meaningful dialogue. Ultimately, Jaimie encouraged us to question the strict categorization of ourselves that Cornell’s culture facilitates, and have the courage to investigate, challenge, and understand our identities as broad and multifaceted in a world that prioritizes specialization.

Thank you to Jaimie for reminding us of these important ideas, and pushing us to think more about our own identities, so that we may experience the growth, love, and responsibility that comes from a secure understanding of ourselves.

Thank you to everyone who came and joined in discussion! Have a great spring break and keep an eye out for upcoming AASP events when we return to campus, like AASP Community Breakfast on April 17, and our final BeComing talk with Jonathan Lam on April 8!

03/23/2026

Hey everyone!!!! Hope you’re all doing well as we head into spring break. 🌷🌸

I’m so excited to share one of my most impactful reads: Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin.

This collection really shifted the way I understand race, identity, and what it means to grow up in America. Baldwin reflects on his relationship with his father, his experiences with racism, and the anger and grief that come with being Black in a country that often refuses to see you fully. What stood out to me most is how he doesn’t shy away from complexity. He shows that anger can be both justified and dangerous, and that understanding requires holding multiple truths at once.

Through his essays, Baldwin challenges us to confront uncomfortable realities while still choosing empathy, reminding us that personal stories are deeply tied to larger social systems.

03/17/2026

UPDATE: This event has been canceled. Please keep an eye out for information for the rescheduled event!

03/16/2026

Hi, everybody! We hope you’re having a great start to your week. As the temperature cools back down and the days feel a little cozier, it might be the perfect time to pick up our Book Of The Week: A Free Life by Ha Jin! This story follows Nan Wu, a Chinese immigrant who moves to the United States with his wife and young son after the Tiananmen Square protests make returning to China impossible. Determined to build a life on his own terms, Nan leaves behind his path as a graduate student and begins working various jobs while chasing his dream of becoming a poet. Through everyday struggles - running a small restaurant, supporting his family, and navigating life in a new country - Nan wrestles with what freedom really means. The novel explores themes of immigration, identity, artistic ambition, and the sacrifices that come with starting over in a foreign land. At the heart of the story is Nan’s search for personal and creative independence, raising questions about what it really takes to live a “free” life.

We highly recommend this reflective novel! A Free Life is perfect for anyone interested in immigrant stories, the pursuit of creative dreams, or explorations of what it means to belong.

We hope you have a wonderful week ahead. Feel free to stop by the Asian American Resource Center in Rockefeller and say hello! Cheers! 📚✨

03/13/2026

Support the Cornell Asian American Studies Program! is going strong until 11:59 p.m. EST tonight. Your gifts, no matter the size, help us pay a competitive wage to the generations of student employees who work (and study, nap, and snack) here. Our students are the heart of our work both in and out of the classroom and make our little corner of campus the lively and welcoming place it is.

For more information about 's events, programs, faculty, and courses, please visit our website at http://asianamericanstudies.cornell.edu/. You can also follow us here on Facebook and on Instagram ().

Address

420 Rockefeller Hall (top Of The Rock)
Ithaca, NY
14853

Telephone

+16072553320

Website

http://asianamericanstudies.cornell.edu/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Cornell Asian American Studies Program posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The University

Send a message to Cornell Asian American Studies Program:

Want your university to be the top-listed university in Ithaca?