New undergraduate program in Asian American and Asian Diaspora (AAAD) Studies
The Asian Studies department announces the successful launch of the Asian American & Asian Diaspora Studies (AAAD) program in the Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science. The program will begin spring 2023.
Asian American & Asian Diaspora Studies is an interdisciplinary academic program that offers a major and minor. The new program cultivates a critical understanding of Asian diasporic peoples, cultures, and histories, while advancing a more complete and accurate understanding of global history from the vantage point of Asian diasporas.
Undergraduate and graduate students led this initiative, advocating for a program following the anti-Asian rhetoric and acts of violence in recent years. Without their energy and determination, this program would not have come to fruition in such a timely fashion. Thank you, students! The College of Arts and Science made significant faculty hires to advance the research and teaching necessary for the establishment of an AAAD major and minor. Vivian Shaw joined the university in fall 2021 as a Mellon Assistant Professor of Asian Studies. She teaches courses in sociology and environmental studies. Mark Sanchez, a specialist in Asian American history, was hired as an assistant professor in fall 2021. In fall 2023, English professor Huan He will begin teaching Asian American literature and culture.
The development of Vanderbilt’s AAAD program has attracted local and national media attention. For more information, see the article.