A Message from the Director

UC San Diego’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies Program is the culmination of generations of student and community activism. It is an incredible honor to serve as Program Director, and I recognize daily my responsibility to support and grow this program that so many students, staff, and faculty fought for. To fulfill this responsibility means recognizing the inherent contradictions and incredible possibilities of engaging in the interdisciplinary work of studying the histories, cultures, and experiences of Asian and Pacific Islander diasporic communities in the mainland United States. While the umbrella term Asian American and Pacific Islander affords us critical numbers, visibility, and thus a tool of political unity, it can also erase and elide the very real differences of power and privilege between us. This is why it becomes critical then to root our work in the program in the original insistence on transnational solidarity, resistance to domestic racism, and dedication to liberation for all from the exploitative forces of capitalism, patriarchy, and heterosexism that defined the 1968-69 radical movements for Asian American Studies. It is my hope that the AAPI Studies Program can deepen and widen its impact on campus, supporting students not only in the development of their academic skills but also in their exploration of their lived experiences and political consciousness while providing a sense of connection and belonging on campus. 

Thank you for your support of the AAPI Studies Program and for building community and producing knowledge with us. 

Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat. 

Amanda Solomon Amorao
Associate Professor of Teaching
AAPI Studies Program Director (2023-2025)