"Unearthing the Nature of Asian American History" - Connie Chiang, Rusack Professorship in Environmental Studies Inaugural Lecture

"Unearthing the Nature of Asian American History"

Environmental historians explore how the natural world and human societies have influenced and shaped one another over time. More recently, scholars have considered how nature structures power relations and racial identities. How do these questions inform Asian American history? Through stories extending from California shores to Gulf Coast waters, this talk explores how Asian Americans’ actual or perceived ties to the environment contributed to and sometimes amplified xenophobia, violence, and exclusion. At the same time, Asian Americans harnessed environmental resources and amenities for their own needs, forging deep connections to places and community. Through their environmental interactions, they came to both understand and assert their rightful place in American society.

Connie Y. Chiang is the Rusack Professor of History and Environmental Studies at Bowdoin College. She earned her BA in history and environmental studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara and her MA and PhD in history at the University of Washington. She is the author of two books and has published several articles on topics in environmental history, Asian American history, and the history of the American West. She has been teaching at Bowdoin since 2002.

Sponsored by the Office of Stewardship.

For more information, contact Jenn Berube Lord at jberube@bowdoin.edu or 207-725-3928.

Open to the public free of charge.

A livestream of this talk will be available on the Bowdoin live events website: www.bowdoin.edu/live