A Growing Collection of Resources on COVID-19 and Anti-Asian Racism

Over the past year, we’ve seen an exponential increase in violence directed against Asian communities in BC and across North America throughout the pandemic. As we grieve, stand, and work alongside family, friends, and colleagues in the Asian Canadian community, we strive to facilitate genuine and engaging conversations, respond to community issues and concerns, and turn the tide of hate by cultivating future leaders. During this time, ACAM students, alumni, faculty, and community members have been working tirelessly to support diverse Asian Canadian communities in areas such as information distribution, advocacy, event organizing and outreach, public history and museum and programming, and policy research. Our team has compiled a growing collection of resources that showcase some of their work. We have also included a few additional resources that may provide invaluable support for this difficult time.

A Year into the Pandemic: Anti-Asian Racism, Media Culture, and Racial Justice

A panel discussion featuring Tamlyn Tomita (The Karate Kid Part II, Joy Luck Club, The Good Doctor), Joel de la Fuente (The Man in the High Castle, Hemlock Grove), and Barbara Lee (VAFF, Elimin8hate); this conversation was moderated by ACAM alumni Leilan Wong (UBC MA student, English) and Phebe Ferrer (Asia Pacific Foundation).

Anti-Racism + Solidarities Resource Collection

A collection of accessible information and resources on anti-racist and solidarity-building work; project team includes two ACAM alumni: Kimberley Wong (project manager) and Jackie Sarvini (project researcher).

Asian Mental Health Collective resource guide

A non-exhaustive list of mental health resources for the South Asian community

Bảo Vệ Collective

A grassroots group working to provide equitable and accessible resources to assist and empower Vietnamese communities to navigate critical information and government support around COVID-19; collective was founded by three ACAM alumni: Y Vy Truong, Mimi Nguyen, and Kathy Thai.

C19 Response Coalition

A collaborative project between community organizers, translators, and artists that focuses on equipping communities that are marginalized through race, language, and income with the tools to navigate the current abundance of COVID-19 information.

Challenging Racist “British Columbia”: 150 Years and Counting

Co-hosted by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – BC Office and the Pacific Canada Heritage Centre – Museum of Migration Society, this event marked the launch of Challenging Racist “British Columbia”: 150 Years and Counting; chapter contributors include UBC PhD students Denise Fong and Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra.

COVID-19 Vulnerabilities: Asian Racialization, Coalition, and Creativity

Conceptualized and led by Dr. Danielle Wong (UBC English, ACAM), this roundtable that brings together artists and scholars including Dr. Ethel Tungohan (York University), Dr. John Paul Catungal (UBC), Stephanie Comilang (Toronto- and Berlin-based documentary artist), Kevin Huang (hua foundation), Dr. Anjuli Fatima Raza Kolb (University of Toronto), Tina Pang (M+ Museum), Y Vy Truong (Bảo Vệ Collective). This playlist that Includes interviews with roundtable panelists and recordings of roundtable discussion as well as Q&A session.

Histories of Race and Contagion: Revisiting D’Arcy Island through COVID-19

A webinar offered by Dr. Renisa Mawani (UBC Sociology, ACAM)

“Pacific Borderlands: Sanctuary, Health and Precarious Migrants in British Columbia”

A roundtable featuring Byron Cruz (Sanctuary Health Collective and Migrant Rights Network), Kelly Go (SWAN), Erie Maestro (Migrante BC), Lara Maestro (Gabriela BC), Anamaria Richardson (Pediatrician and volunteer for precarious migrants).

Race Thinking In/As Health: Canada’s Historical Geographies For and Beyond COVID-19

A webinar offered by Dr. John Paul Catungal (UBC Social Justice Institute, ACAM)

Yellow Peril, Racial Fear, and Pandemics in Canada

Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC’s annual Paul and Eileen Lin Commemorative Lecture featuring keynote speaker Dr. Renisa Mawani (UBC Sociology, ACAM) and respondents Dr. Laura Ishiguro (UBC History, ACAM) and Naomi Louie (UBC MA student, History).

FIPR469A: Asian Canadian Film Production (2016)

Under Fire

By Christy Fong and Denise Fong

This documentary short brings you into the kitchen of an East Vancouver grocery with an unexpected menu item: roasted pig. Discover the secretive cooking methods and Chinatown’s historical struggles with this iconic dish against municipal, provincial, and federal legislation. The ten-year long battle culminated in an extravagant Chinese roasted meats banquet hosted by Chinatown activists for high profile politicians at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The impressive dinner led to policy changes across the country that ensured this traditional dish could survive. Featuring rare soundbites from the “Pender Guy Radio Show,” the first English-language Chinese Canadian grassroots radio program from the 1970s.

FIPR469A: Asian Canadian Film Production (2015)

Spicing & Dicing

By Dominique Bautista and Christina Lee

This fly-on-the-wall documentary enters into the kitchens of four chefs as they each cook a noodle dish sprinkling aspects of their respective regional cultures with a dash of Chinese influence. How does food reflect migration? Influenced by the different experiences and insights of our chefs, we began to explore food as a form of cultural expression of the past and the present, changing based on time and space.

This film was created by Dominique Bautista and Christina Lee, for FIPR 469A at the University of British Columbia, part of the Asian Canadian Asian Migration Studies minor program.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/jYuD5IXmo0Q[/youtube]

From Chopsticks to Hockey Sticks TO BE CHANGED

By Josie Chow

Beginning with the personal story of the documentarian, this film expands to explore the challenges of playing hockey in Asia, and the impacts of cultural differences on the game.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwhOeYRvR6s[/youtube]

ACAM Tote Bag Design Contest – Call for Submissions!

The ACAM team is excited to announce our community design contest for our new tote bags! We know the extended ACAM community is full of amazing artists, writers, and activists, and we’d love to feature your artwork on the new tote bags. We welcome submissions from everyone, whether you’re a current or previous ACAM student, or if you just love the ACAM family. We tote-lly can’t wait to see your work!

Due to the current pandemic, the ACAM team has not had the chance to meet new students and engage with community members at public events. This contest hopes to provide an opportunity for students to interact with ACAM in ways that might not be possible virtually, or that are not recognized in the (online) classroom setting. The ACAM team hopes to use our platform to encourage students to share the work they do outside of the classroom setting and to help showcase such work.

The deadline for submission is March 29, 2021!

*UPDATED CONTEST GUIDLINES:*

After receiving some feedback and much reflection, our team has decided to modify our tote bag contest.

The updated contest invites people who are interested in this contest to submit a short writeup, a pitch/proposal, or a draft sketch that describes their design. We also encourage people to share their previous work or any visual references with us so that the team can learn more about their style and aesthetics. However, we want to note that the intention of this contest is to facilitate engagement with our students and the broader ACAM community. You don’t need to have a portfolio to participate! We encourage all students, alumni, and community members who wish to share their creative energies to submit an idea. We hope that your design idea will represent your relationship with ACAM and what the program means to you! After reviewing the submissions, we will announce the contest winner at the beginning of April. The winner will receive a tote bag as well as a $100 prize in the form of honorarium or a gift bag of equivalent value (winner can choose between the two).

Please send your submission to acam.events@ubc.ca, and use the following as the email subject line: Tote Bag Design Submission

Thank you to our community for engaging with us during this process. We appreciate your generosity in sharing your thoughts and perspectives with us as our team continues to learn and grow. For any questions, please contact us on Facebook or at acam.events@ubc.ca.

Check out our previous tote bag design below!

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant – ACAM320B

The Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies program is looking for an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant from the Faculty of Arts to assist the following course:

ACAM 320B 001 – Health Among Asian Canadian Communities (web-oriented lecture; Mon/Wed 12:30PM-2PM)

To apply for this position, please submit your application materials to acam.program@ubc.ca

Qualifications: Must be a current undergraduate student in ACAM, Psychology, Sociology, or other relevant disciplines in the Faculty of Arts. Applicants must demonstrate a good understanding in socio-cultural issues pertaining to Asian Canadian communities. Good communications and organizational skills are an asset.

Duties: The UTA may be required, at a minimum, to attend classes, lead discussions, hold office hours, and manage course Canvas page.

Hours of work: The workload is around 12 hours per week, and the total number should not exceed 192 hours. Please note that the hours may vary from week to week depending on how the course is structured.

Salary: UTA 1 – $20.33 per hour (as of Sept 1, 2020)

Application: A letter of application and a curriculum vitae (please include all contact information and year of study).

Deadline for applications is December 4 at 5pm, 2020.

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Métis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Olivia Lim (BA, English Language and Literatures, Honours)

Olivia Lim (she/her/hers) is a UBC graduate of Chinese Filipino and European descent currently working, living, and learning on the traditional, ancestral, and unceeded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-waututh nations. She completed her BA in Honours English with a minor in Asian Canadian and Asian Migrations Studies. Her research interests include critical race and critical disability studies, life writing, affect theory, embodiment, postcolonial theory, and Asian Canadian, Asian American, Filipinx, and Asian Diaspora literatures.

Why did you declare a minor in ACAM? What drew you to the program?

I was drawn to ACAM because it offered an opportunity to learn and grow in community while studying issues that were meaningful to me. I loved the interdisciplinary nature of the program and how it encouraged students to discuss and learn from their own experiences of migration, race, colonialism, mental health, and so much more. ACAM provided space for conversations and dialogues that meaningfully engaged with students’ concerns and interests in a way that I hadn’t seen reflected in other parts of the university. I am truly grateful for the many students, staff, faculty, and community members who have made ACAM the program it is today.

Name an ACAM faculty whose class had a significant impact on you and share why.

I would like to thank Dr. Chris Lee whose class, English 480: Asian Canadian and/or Asian Transnational Studies, first introduced me to ACAM. Taking this class changed the path of my undergraduate studies and inspired me to explore literature that spoke to my experiences and my community. With his guidance and support, I completed my Honours thesis on the representations of mixed-race faces in Asian diasporic life writing. I would also like to thank Dr. Y-Dang Troeung. Her course, English 478: Post-Colonial Studies, had a profound impact on my research interests and encouraged me to delve into postcolonial, critical race, and critical disability theory. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to learn from her as both a student and a research assistant. Finally, I would like to extend a big thank you to all the ACAM faculty who supported and encouraged me in my academic journey.

Have you completed any projects through or related to an ACAM course? If so, could you share your experiences?

For ACAM 350, I created a short documentary “Raising the Bar” along with my group members Kevin Li, Vanessa Chan, Hilary Leung, and Carl Cai. The film follows Monica Ma, a Chinese Canadian woman in her sixties, as she trains for the 2020 IPF World Classic Masters Powerlifting Championships. As we follow her journey, we learn about her experience of breaking stereotypes as a powerlifter and get to see the community that supports her along the way. Making the film was such a fun experience and a great example of the ways that ACAM welcomes and fosters multimedia projects and storytelling. You can watch the full documentary at https://youtu.be/3Ic6QyQjy4w.

Rachel Lau (BMS, Media Studies)

Rachel Lau (they/them) is a queer Cantonese artist, writer, and radio producer based in what’s colonially known as “Vancouver”. Through sound art, photography, and zine-making, they contemplate what it means to experience longing in a world that is transient. Lau is a recent graduate of the Bachelor of Media Studies program, with a minor in Asian Canadian and Asian Migration studies. Currently, they are a co-librarian of Queer Reads Library, a mobile library of queer books and zines founded in Hong Kong and presented internationally.

Why did you declare a minor in ACAM? What drew you to the program?

Growing up in Vancouver’s Chinatown, I always knew who I was as a Chinese person living in “Canada”, but I did not understand the significance of my identity. I was drawn to ACAM because I wanted to learn about myself and people who looked like me in this context. It was the kindness and wisdom of fellow ACAM classmates and dear friends Jane Shi, amanda wan, Yulanda Lui, and Christy Fong that pushed my second year self to join ACAM — one of the best decisions I have ever made.

What connections and ideas were you able to foster through ACAM?

We are nothing without our communities. While it was easy to get lost in the literature or the research, ACAM faculty and classmates continually reminded me that the knowledge we have is owed to the communities we work with.

Have you completed any projects through or related to an ACAM course? If so, could you share your experiences?

The projects I am most proud of are the ones that were made possible through expanding on the ideas and relationships I have built through various ACAM courses. In 2017, I co-curated a listening party with Christy Fong, which featured archival recordings from Pender Guy Radio, the first English-language Chinese Canadian radio program produced in Canada. Most recently, I was the Project Coordinator for Speak My Language, an intergenerational, multilingual radio documentary series focused on the language barriers faced by Chinese seniors accessing healthcare in BC. I had the immense pleasure of working with Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice and ACAM alumnus Yulanda Lui to produce this series. You can learn more about the project here: yarrowsociety.ca/speakmylanguage. Both projects were made possible through the support of the Quan Lee Excellence Fund and for that I am eternally grateful.

What is one piece of advice you would give your first-year self?

Be kinder to yourself. The people, the lessons, the opportunities will come. Everything in its time, dear one.

Sessional Teaching for 2020W

Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies Program – Sessional Teaching for 2020W Term 2 (January to April 2021)

Posted: September 21, 2020

The Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies Program (ACAM) is now accepting applications for a sessional position in 2020W Term 2 (4 instructional months; January to April 2021). The successful candidate will teach the following course:

ACAM350 001 – Asian Canadian Community-Based Media (Wednesday 4-7pm)

Applicants should include with their letter of application:

Curriculum vitae (detailing post-secondary teaching experience)
Names and contact emails of two referees

Please send your application package to acam.program@ubc.ca by 4pm, October 8, 2020.

All positions are subject to availability of funds and will be governed by UBC’s “Agreement on Conditions of Appointment for Sessional Lecturers.”

The minimum salary for 2020W will be $6,779.00 per 3-credit course. Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Métis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Congratulations to Mary Kitagawa!

The Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies Program (ACAM) and the Asian Canadian Community Engagement Initiative (ACCE) are delighted to congratulate Keiko Mary Kitagawa on the occasion of being awarded an Honorary Degree from UBC. As an advocate for human rights and racial justice, Mary is widely admired for her tireless efforts to preserve histories of racism in Canada, including the wartime uprooting, dispersal, and incarceration of Japanese Canadians that she personally experienced as a child. At UBC, she is perhaps best known for leading a successful campaign to recognize the 76 Japanese Canadian students who were forcibly removed from the University at the start of the Second World War. After these students were awarded honorary degrees in 2012, ACAM and ACCE were established to advance UBC’s engagement with Asian Canadian communities. Along with her husband Tosh, Mary has mentored numerous students, staff, and faculty over the years and continues to take an active role in anti-racist education. In 2018, she was appointed to the Order of British Columbia.

While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic makes it impossible to celebrate Mary’s Honorary Degree in person at the moment, her commitments continue to inform our work during these challenging times. This fall, ACAM will be offering a new course on Asian Canadian history taught by Professor Laura Ishiguro, which will build on Mary’s work as an educator and activist. We look forward to sharing more of her accomplishments with the UBC community in the months to come.

ACAM300

The above course trailer is from 2020. Please be advised that the course time in the trailer is incorrect and is now updated below.

What do Asian Canadian histories have to do with the present? What good can historical knowledge, understanding, and thinking do now? Listen to our audio trailer featuring instructor Dr. Laura Ishiguro to learn more about this course!

In 2024W, ACAM_V 300-001 – Dis/Orienting Asian Canada is offered in Term 1 on Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30-11am, and is taught by Dr. Laura Ishiguro from the Department of History.

See other featured courses.