Martin Manalansan
Election
Position
Name
Martin Manalansan
Candidate statement
In the 1990s, I was unmoored as a graduate student trained in both area studies and anthropology. As my project on Filipino gay men in New York City emerged, I discovered that there was a field and a community that would be open to such a research focus. I found intellectual and social sustenance in the Association for Asian American Studies. Lisa Lowe, Yen Espiritu, and Gary Okihiro were (and still are) my anchors. They provided not only support and encouragement, but also made me realize that there was a welcoming place for me and my work in a convivial environment. In other words, AAAS allowed me to survive and flourish. I am forever indebted to it.
As President, I would like to continue this tradition of generational generosity. By generation, I do not mean a mere chronological or reproductive cohort or a passive passing-on of “knowledge.” Rather, I consider this tradition as a lively, capacious pool of partnerships and dialogues that will “generate” new ways of thinking, modes of community collaboration and activism, possible spaces of living and survival, and possibly, hopefully, moments of joy, pleasure, and camaraderie despite the forbidding conditions we find ourselves in.
The field of Asian American Studies is a rich, expansive field that is defined by its boundlessness and its capacity to bravely forge new areas of inquiries. From Global Asia's paradigms to pioneering studies on queer of color critique, Asian American Studies has been in the forefront on re-orienting various disciplinary and interdisciplinary endeavors. I aspire to continue to participate in this ongoing exuberant scholarly tradition.
I want to also generate new critical and effective ways of responding to and engaging with enduring crises of racism, xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, and class elitism. In practical terms, we should have various task forces at the ready to what seems to be several more years of economic, political, and social upheavals. As a community of scholars, activists, and artists, AAAS is poised to become an even stronger force in shaping opinion, influencing policy, encouraging creativity, and supporting activism in the United States and the world at large. As President, I aim to be part of the association's bright and promising future. Manalansan is the Beverly and Richard Fink Professor in Liberal Arts and Professor of American Studies in the Department of American Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
As President, I would like to continue this tradition of generational generosity. By generation, I do not mean a mere chronological or reproductive cohort or a passive passing-on of “knowledge.” Rather, I consider this tradition as a lively, capacious pool of partnerships and dialogues that will “generate” new ways of thinking, modes of community collaboration and activism, possible spaces of living and survival, and possibly, hopefully, moments of joy, pleasure, and camaraderie despite the forbidding conditions we find ourselves in.
The field of Asian American Studies is a rich, expansive field that is defined by its boundlessness and its capacity to bravely forge new areas of inquiries. From Global Asia's paradigms to pioneering studies on queer of color critique, Asian American Studies has been in the forefront on re-orienting various disciplinary and interdisciplinary endeavors. I aspire to continue to participate in this ongoing exuberant scholarly tradition.
I want to also generate new critical and effective ways of responding to and engaging with enduring crises of racism, xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, and class elitism. In practical terms, we should have various task forces at the ready to what seems to be several more years of economic, political, and social upheavals. As a community of scholars, activists, and artists, AAAS is poised to become an even stronger force in shaping opinion, influencing policy, encouraging creativity, and supporting activism in the United States and the world at large. As President, I aim to be part of the association's bright and promising future. Manalansan is the Beverly and Richard Fink Professor in Liberal Arts and Professor of American Studies in the Department of American Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.