Love, Life, and Death in Transnational Adoptions from Asia

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Friday, May 26, 2023 | 5:30pm to 7pm

In this talk based on his upcoming book supported by the Betty Lee Sung Research Endowment Fund, Prof. Kit Myers explores how the orphan figure; birth and adoptive families; and sending (Asian) and receiving (United States) nations have been configured in transnational adoption discourse and law. Looking at popular television, legal journals, and congressional hearings, Prof. Myers considers how racialized notions of love, life, and death inform the “best interest of the child” determinations in transnational adoption policymaking. What sorts of already existing violent structures and representations are operating in order to activate and facilitate transnational adoptions? How has transnational adoption, as a loving act, produced violent outcomes? 

Author Bio

Kit Myers is an assistant professor in the Department of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Merced. He received his doctorate and master’s degrees from the University of California, San Diego in ethnic studies and his bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies and journalism from the University of Oregon. Prior to his current position, he was a chancellor’s postdoctoral fellow at UC Merced. His research examines adoption, family, and kinship, specifically in the ways that they intersect with race, gender, sexuality, immigration, citizenship, nation, and indigenous sovereignty. He has published articles in Adoption Quarterly, Amerasia Journal, Adoption & Culture, and Critical Discourse Studies as well as co-edited a special issue on adoption and pedagogy. He also serves as an executive committee member of the Alliance for the Study of Adoption & Culture.