Teaching Overview

My teaching approach involves honing inclusive pedagogies to address systemic barriers for first-generation, Asian American and other students of color by integrating healing and well-being; uplifting organizing and creative artistic resistance; and highlighting how Asian American/ Ethnic Studies bears relevance for students’ lives and careers to spark interest in further study and campus/ community involvement. I put  considerable energy and intention into developing safe, engaging, and supportive classroom environments. I foreground radical healing in all of my classes, including a central principle of healing justice. We also frequently engage in active community builders and collectively develop community agreements as guiding principles so that students will feel safe sharing personal stories and opinions.

As a result, students have stated that my class has helped them develop social skills, and that the class is a fun and comfortable environment where they can uniquely make connections to their own lives and learn from each other. Students in classes such as ASAM 370 have stated that they feel that the environment is a welcome respite from stress- and a comfortable environment where they feel empowered.

Asian American/ Ethnic Studies is not just about structural violence, but liberation. I interweave my organizing and connections with local Asian American and community of color organizing groups by highlighting case studies of campaigns through multimedia and community-based reports and guest speakers. For example, I have invited organizers from Khmer Girls in Action, Filipino Migrant Center, California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, and Viet Rainbow of Orange County to speak about and recruit students as volunteers for their campaigns.