Chien Wen Kung would have us believe that instituting an Asian American Studies minor is "antithetical to the idea of a university" (The Dartmouth, Jan. 31, 2002, "Thoughts on Ethnic Studies"). He fears that this would force "the people involved to engage in rigorous academy study," and would rather have Dartmouth students obtain their knowledge of Asian-American issues through some lectures, a publication and a couple of discussions.
Unfortunately, Kung's argument relies entirely on a number of assumptions about the proposed AAS minor, most significantly: what the studies entail, who will be taking the courses and the process of instituting the minor. (Kung also grossly misstates the goals of the AAS task force: to establish a coherent Asian-American minor, and not a "10 or so course major.")
We, as the editors of Main Street, are certainly dedicated to promoting awareness of Asian-American issues, but in no way presume or expect that publishing an Asian American-focused magazine alone sufficiently engages the Dartmouth community. Shirley and Jeanette Park '02 co-founded Main Street magazine last fall with the intent to promote discussion of and scholarship on Asian-American issues -- and not to produce a definitive textbook for AAS 101. Lectures, a student publication and discussions, while an important first step, are insufficient as a forum for gaining an awareness of Asian-American issues. How are Dartmouth students and professors expected to be a font of knowledge about Asian-American history and culture without having the necessary tools to construct that knowledge? Certainly not, we gather, by importing it from the 46 top-notch institutions that already offer AAS.
Unbeknownst to Kung, AAS is an established academic field of inquiry that has become integral to scholarship in U.S. history, diaspora studies and race theory. Through an interdisciplinary approach, AAS has disrupted the outmoded black-white dichotomy that has confined race studies in the United States. Any attempt to characterize the push for AAS as pure identity politics is inaccurate and ignores the potential for this minor to enrich other disciplines at Dartmouth and in general.
An AAS minor, despite Kung's claims, is not intended to serve the interests of a token "diversity." The College's professed commitment to diversity within the student body must also mean that interested students can obtain from the classroom those tools they need to serve minority communities after Dartmouth. Given our alumni's impressive track record for public service, surely not all Dartmouth students wish to apply their education toward maximizing investor returns or marketing toothpaste. The minor will enable any student -- not just Asian-American students -- to recognize the needs along with the contributions of Asian-American communities, and put that knowledge into service.
When Shirley Lin told The Dartmouth that our history is not represented here, she was referring to the absence of a firm, institutional commitment to AAS in the curriculum. In 1998, when we matriculated into Dartmouth, only two of the four AAS courses existed. What we have today are four Asian-American courses taught by two untenured professors, one under contract for a temporary visiting position. In essence, these courses are not permanent offerings at Dartmouth.
Kung also accuses Lin of having an extremely "unhistorical" concept of history, urging her to take the "great wealth of courses on Chinese history and culture" at Dartmouth (an assertion that assumed that her parents immigrated from China, which is not the case). The lack of an AAS minor is not made up for by Asian studies courses, a widespread fallacy that the committee is striving to correct. This kind of simple-minded conflation is precisely why an AAS minor is crucial -- Asian-Americans must continually confront the notion that they are perpetual foreigners rather than part of a long trajectory of experience in the United States.
The initiative isn't simply a matter of demanding an AAS minor and getting it. Students on the committee (which indeed includes South Asian supporters) are dedicated to doing the necessary background work -- meeting with department heads, researching possible courses, garnering student support -- in order to make this minor a reality. These students are certainly not going to be, in Kung's words, "allowed to get something just because they want it really bad." It is a difficult and tedious process, but the committee is willing to work toward its goal. Rather than diminishing their efforts even before the struggle has begun, Kung might do well to re-examine his assumptions.
