Thinking Beyond Stereotypes in Asian American Media

Public discussions of Asian American media representation are often overdetermined by narratives of the racial injury of Hollywood stereotypes, or what Black feminist Patricia Hill Collins called “controlling images.” But how have Asian American communities, performers, artists, and thinkers challenged and refigured those controlling images for their own purposes?

This panel brings together the authors of four new books in Asian American media and cultural studies to examine historical, ethnographic, feminist, transpacific, and queer of color approaches to this question. Beyond simply contributing to knowledge “about” Asian American subjects, each book shows us how Asian Americanist critique expands the possibilities of traditional disciplinary fields.

Moderator and Panelists include Drs. Melissa Phruksachart, Denise Khor, Mila Zuo, Lori Kido Lopez, and Vivian L. Huang.

Sponsors: National Center for Institutional Diversity; Anti-Racism Collaborative; Diversity Scholars Network; University of Michigan Library; Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies Program; Department of Film, Television, and Media, Digital Studies Institute