Transtrauma: Conceptualizing the Lived Experiences of Vietnamese American Youth

Dr. Khánh Lê’s talk draws from his doctoral project with Vietnamese American youth in the Philadelphia area. During Fall 2020, the youth participated in eight workshops to learn about their Vietnamese history, culture and language, as well as their history in the U.S. The eight workshops utilized the arts and storytelling to guide the youth to collectively narrate their experiences living in the diaspora. The careful examination of the youth’s narratives during the workshops helped him develop a theory of what he called “transtrauma.”

Read more

Korean “Comfort Women”: Military Brothels, Brutality, and the Redress Movement

Korean “Comfort Women” synthesizes the previous major findings about Japanese military sexual slavery and legal recommendations, and provides new findings about the issues “comfort women” faced for an English-language audience. It also examines the transnational redress movement, revealing that the Japanese government has tried to conceal the crime of sexual slavery and to resolve the women’s human rights issue with diplomacy and economic power.

Read more

Asian Americans Recognizing Ourselves at a Crossroads

DURING THE WORST Asian American Heritage Month ever, May 2020, I wondered how I would start my tenure as President of Queens College. I had been named to the position just as the COVID-19 pandemic was underway, invisible and silent, distributed by “super spreaders” who had brought it from both Asia and Europe, albeit without … Read more

Model Minority vs Covid-19: Education through Crisis, For Asians in America

Covid-19 has sparked an increase in racism against East Asians in America, whether immigrant or native born. However, racism against all groups of Asian descent has been around for much longer, with racist stereotypes and the model minority myth. Join Queens Memory and our partners for an online discussion about the current higher educational experience for Asians in America, who are facing the continuously evolving challenge of racism. We will also discuss how Asians in America can provide ally-ship and solidarity to other groups that are experiencing racial oppression.

Read more