CSA Hosts Town Hall on How to Confront Anti-Asian Racism
On March 26, 2021, the Center for the Study of Asia (CSA), an affiliated regional center at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University (BU), hosted a virtual town hall discussing a recent rise in violence and hate crimes against Asian Americans.
The event was led by Thomas Berger, CSA Director and Professor of International Relations at the Pardee School, and featured Ronald Richardson, BU Associate Professor of History and African American Studies, Alice Tseng, BU Professor of Japanese Art and Architecture, Catherine Yeh, BU Professor of Chinese and Comparative Literature and former CSA Director, as well as BU student representatives Emily Wu and Vy Hoàng.
The town hall allowed for a strong and honest conversation in which speakers and attendees shared their own experiences with anti-Asian racism and their reactions to recent instances of violence around the United States. All in attendance stressed the importance of diversity and inclusion and discussed what can be done to promote progress and understanding.
The event brought together over 100 attendees, including students, faculty, and staff from across BU. Participants talked about national and local actions, but also discussed what can be done at BU in the classroom (i.e. readjusting curriculum) and at the institution as a whole (fostering a safe, inclusive learning environment) to address this pressing issue.
The event listing can be found on CSA’s website.
Boston University’s Center for the Study of Asia, established in 2008, promotes comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and cross-national understanding of Asia through coordination of teaching missions, research support, community-building among faculty and students, and broad outreach beyond the university. It strives to be an intellectual hub for new ideas and cutting edge research in the humanities and social sciences. Learn more about this center on the CSA website.