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The College of Arts & Sciences
At the time of its founding in 1987, the Asian American Studies Program at Cornell University was the first such program in the Ivy League. Today the program has faculty members in the humanities and social sciences in a variety of departments and colleges. With a minor in Asian American studies, you’ll examine the histories and experiences, identities, social and community formations, politics and contemporary concerns of people of Asian ancestry in the U.S. and other parts of the Americas.
“The AAS minor has provided me with an academic framework to better grapple with my own Desi identity. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to learn about the rich history of Asian Americans in the U.S., racial solidarity, and grassroot resistance against colonial power structures. I know that the perspectives and concepts I have come across in my Asian American studies classes will continue to inform how I see and interact with the world around me.”
— Alyssa Kamath ‘23
Alexis Boyce, Asian American Studies Program manager and co-chair of the Staff Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Committee, discusses the group’s ongoing efforts to address staff concerns and drive meaningful change.
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“We felt this is an important resource that should be available to our humanists at all levels, whether they have the resources to pay for membership or not,” said Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences.
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"Cornell alumni are generous with their time and efforts to assist students, to answer questions from students, or connect them to people and places."
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Peter John Loewen says he's excited to support faculty in their research, meet students and showcase the value of a liberal arts education.
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Alexis Boyce, program manager for the Asian American Studies Program, has been honored with the Employee Assembly's Award for Staff Inclusion and Integrity.
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Congratulations to our Class of 2024 Asian American Studies graduates!
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In January, Cornell graduate student Kaitlin Findlay ran a workshop on community engaged curation and representing histories of loss at the Nikkei National Museum near Vancouver, Canada. The purpose of the workshop, which was partially funded by the Asian American Studies Program through its support...
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