Proposals to Improve the Asian American Experience at Duke · "Cherry Blossoms Among Magnolias?": A History of the Asian American Experience at Duke

The Silent Majority: Asian American Students

As noted by Steven Chin in the 1982 Chanticleer, there was little sense of Asian American consiousness at Duke in the 1980s.

In the span of ten years, the Asian American undergraduate population at Duke had over doubled, going from 5.8% of the student body in 1990 to over 12% in 2000.^[1] However, as more and more students of Asian descent came to attend Duke, there were growing concerns among certain students, faculty, and administrators that the academic and social infrastructure of the university was not reflecting the increasingly diverse student body.

Students, often in conjunction with cultural organizations like the Asian Student Association, began to advocate for a Duke that would be representative of the university’s growing Asian and Asian American population. Often, the recommendations posited by these activists were met with measured apathy by the university administration. Some of these demands included more Asian representation in the faculty, increased funding for Asian organizations on campus, admitting more students of underrepresented Asian minority groups, a greater number Asia related courses, and perhaps most notably: an Asian American Studies program at Duke.

Asian students began to make their voices heard to the administration, as shown in this 1995 ASA memorandum to President Keohane.

The Asian Student Association (ASA) submitted annual proposals to the administration recommending changes to housing, admissions, funding, and the curriculum.^[2]

Within Asian cultural groups like ASA, there were debates on whether the group should take on a more political role or function primarily as a cultural/social group.^[3]

The Movement for Asian American Studies at Duke

Hear Christina Hsu, one of the leaders of the AAS Working Group, talk about the movement to bring AAS to Duke, including what motivated the group to come together, and how they did not ultimately reach their goal of establishing a formal AAS program at Duke.

Discussion of a potential Asian American Studies program at Duke dates back to Professor Peter H. Wood’s “Asians in America” house course that was taught in the early 1980s – the first course at Duke relating to Asian Americans. Duke alumnus, Steven Chin (Class of 1981), even spent part of his time after graduation traveling all across the American South distributing curriculum materials and syllabi relating to Asian American Studies.

However, in the early 2000s the movement for an Asian American Studies program at Duke took on new steam as a group of students known as the “Asian American Studies Undergraduate Working Group” – Christina Hsu, Nancy Lee, Stephanie Liu, and Namita Koppa – actively organized and met with administrators to campaign for the establishment of a formal Asian American Studies (AAS) program.

The movement sought to garner attention for an AAS program at Duke through petitions, “teach-ins,” faculty support from various academic departments, and support from various cultural organizations on campus. Despite the movement’s active attempts in trying to convince the administration of the viability of an AAS program, Duke ultimately decided against the creation of an Asian American Studies department. As of 2016, Duke still does not have a separate academic department or program for Asian American Studies.

Even before the AAS Working Group was created, there had been discussions of a possible AAS department at Duke, as evidenced by this list of recommended agenda for the ASA.^[4]

The movement sought to garner support through campus events like a "teach-in" held on April 8, 2002 that included faculty guest speakers and Duke students.^[5]

The AAS Undergraduate Working Group handed out flyers and guides detailing the viability of having Asian American Studies at Duke.^[6]

Various cultural organizations like the BSA, the Freeman Center for Jewish Life, and Diya all wrote to the administration in support of having an AAS program at Duke.^[7]

Duke University Office for instituional Equity, Head Enrollment as Reported To IPEDS (United States Department Department of Education), (2014), distributed by Office for Institutional Equity.
Report, “Task Force Proposal for the Improvement of the Asian and Asian American Experience,” [2000], Box 1, Asian Student Association Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Durham, North Carolina.
Newspaper editorials, “Asian Student Association Debate in The Chronicle,” [ca. 2000], Box 1, Asian Student Association Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Durham, North Carolina.
Report, “The Future of Asian/Pacific Americans at Duke: Recommended Agenda for ASA,” [July 2000], Box 1, Asian Student Association Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Durham, North Carolina.
Pamphlet, “Duke University: Asian American Studies Teach-in,” [April 8, 2002], Box 1, Asian Student Association Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Durham, North Carolina.
Flyer, “AAS Undergraduate Working Group Orientation Guide,” [2002], Box 1, Asian Student Association Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Durham, North Carolina.
Letters to Dean William Chafe, “Letters in Support of AAS at Duke from Various Campus Organizations,” [November 2002], Box 1, Asian Student Association Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Durham, North Carolina.