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School of Humanities
Learning more about AANHPIs at UCI
Within the UCI School of Humanities, there are a number of ways to engage with Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander scholarship, events and initiatives. We are home to the Department of East Asian Studies, where you can major or minor in East Asian studies, Chinese studies, Japanese language and literature, and Korean literature and culture, and minor in Asian studies and Japanese studies. We also house the Department of Asian American Studies, where you can major or minor in Asian American studies. Our Center for Critical Korean Studies is a hub for research and programming around the study of Korean subjects across disciplinary boundaries.
Interdisciplinary scholars at UCI shed light on the AANHPI stories that are left out of mainstream historical narratives: from the Chinese railroad workers that built the backbone of America in the 1800's, to a bacterial epidemic that swept over Native Hawaiians during the emergence of hula, to the first woman of color to enter congress and write groundbreaking legislation.
AANHPI history is American history
UCI historian examines the longest medical quarantine in modern history
UCI professor pens first biography of Patsy Mink, author of Title IX
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Thriving Korean scholarship
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Engaging AANHPI communities
Meeting AANHPI medical needs
UCI humanities alumnus and doctor Calvin Ho focuses on underserved communities
UCI scholar bridges Asian American studies and narratives of illness
UCI center offers compassionate perspectives on health and disease
AANHPI contributions to arts and culture
At the School of Humanities, scholars study how ancient and contemporary AANHPI cultural works, from religious architecture to hip hop, influence the world around them. Not only do they engage in cutting-edge research, they also create award-winning animated films, write poetry, script web series and so much more.
Asian American literature at UCI
Asian American authors in the School of Humanities – from faculty and MFA students to alumni – are prolific essayists, poets, memoirists, novelists and journalists.
Among a wide variety of scholarly and creative and endeavors, they write about and teach courses on the history of Chinese food in America; explore Korean history and intergenerational trauma through poetry; craft fiction about being Asian American during the COVID pandemic; write short stories about finding home in Singapore; and pen essays on the trafficking of and violence against Asian women.
Supporting AANHPI studies at the School of Humanities
Though UCI’s Department of Asian American Studies is relatively young, it has already earned a national reputation as a champion of student empowerment, community-led activism and cutting-edge scholarship. Its growth and success has been made possible by lifetime advocates like former UCI research librarian Christina Woo.
As a member of UCI’s Asian American studies community since its very inception, Woo is ensuring the department continues to thrive by establishing the Christina J. Woo Endowed Fund in Asian American Studies, which will provide research support and community engagement opportunities for existing Asian American studies students and generations to come.
Below, meet more supporters who help take our research, initiatives, events and programs to new heights.
UCI alumni couple create Choi Family Endowed Korean Studies Scholarship
UCI alumni couple Carol Choi ’85 and Eugene Choi ’86, MBA ’01 have been a mainstay of the campus for decades. In 2019, the Chois pledged $100,000 to create an endowment at UCI’s Center for Critical Korean Studies, which has provided scholarships for undergraduate students majoring in Korean studies and other qualified students with demonstrated interest in Korean studies. Through its Brilliant Future Scholarship Match Opportunity, UCI doubled the gift, matching endowment distributions in perpetuity, making this gift to Korean studies the equivalent of a $200,000 endowment.
The couple also leverage their international network to build meaningful connections between the university and the community – from serving as alumni ambassadors in China and Korea to helping establish the UCI Korea Law Center to growing and advising the UCI Korean American Alumni Chapter.
“We always wanted to be able to give back to our community,” said Carol Choi. “We both immigrated with our parents and received a really great education, and we knew we wanted to pay it forward.”
UCI alumna and her husband establish the John M. Liu Endowed Fund in Asian American Studies
Almost 30 years ago, Eileen Chun-Fruto (B.A. social science, ’94), now owner of Chun Fruto Law in Los Angeles, was among the student activists who protested the lack of ethnic studies curriculum at UCI and campaigned for a department dedicated to Asian American studies. After years of student-led protests and incremental progress, the Asian American studies minor was established in 1996, followed by the major in 1997.
Chun-Fruto has been a member of UCI’s Asian American studies community since the beginning, and now she's ensuring the department continues to grow well into the future. Chun-Fruto and her husband, Richard Fruto, recently established the John M. Liu Endowed Fund in Asian American Studies, which will provide research support and community engagement opportunities for Asian American studies students and guarantee that the department continues to flourish for generations to come.
“Especially in our current political climate, Asian American studies scholars, activists and community-led organizations are sorely needed,” Chun-Fruto said. “I hope that the John M. Liu Endowed Fund will allow future students to pursue research and build the sort of robust community that has always been foundational to the department.”
Former UCI lecturer supports growth of Chinese studies
Teresa Chi-Ching Sun dedicated 60 years of her life to teaching Chinese studies and language across Southern California, including several within the University of California, Irvine Department of East Asian Studies’ Chinese language program. Now retired, she continues her legacy as an advocate for Chinese studies at UCI. In 2018, she contributed $5,000 and pledged an additional $20,000 gift in their support.
UCI’s Department of East Asian Studies offers undergraduate students the ability to major in Chinese studies (with two emphases: Chinese language and literature, and Chinese culture and society). It also offers Chinese language courses (Mandarin) to all majors on campus. Sun’s gifts have been earmarked specifically to support course development in the Chinese language program, which serves nearly 150 students per quarter.
“UCI is surrounded by a Chinese community well educated and versed in Chinese cultural traditions,” said Sun. “The Department of East Asian Studies can be developed into a leading center of research with the effort and interest of the Chinese community.”
Through activism and giving, former lecturer shows dedication to Asian American students
One of the most compelling moments in University of California, Irvine’s storied past might be one of its lesser known: the student-led protests in the early 1990s that established formal ethnic studies programs on the campus, including a rotational hunger strike that led to the creation of the Department of Asian American Studies. Mary Ann Takemoto, Ph.D. is a key figure in this chapter of UCI history. As one of the first lecturers in Asian American studies at UCI, and a former associate director of the UCI Counseling Center, she’s empowered students to advocate for the representation of their histories and stories in campus curriculum.
While Takemoto’s impact on UCI as an institution as well as on its students is already remarkable, she has found new ways to help foster the growth of the department and to support students in Asian American studies. In 2020, she and her husband Tony Kwan earmarked a portion of their estate to support undergraduate and graduate students who pursue Asian American studies at UCI. Upon their passing, it will establish a large endowment, the interest of which will support students in perpetuity.
“I think giving to the next generation of students is an investment in the future,” she said. “I am thrilled to see how the Department of Asian American Studies has grown over the past 25 years. I hope that my gift will encourage others to consider a similar gift.”
Thank you to the following donors for making generous contributions to Asian American studies, Chinese studies and Korean studies:
- Rachelle Ang
- Teresa Chi-Ching Sun
- Carol and Eugene Choi
- Eileen Chun-Fruto and Richard Fruto
- Amardeep Gill
- Jennie and Eugene Hu
- Alexander Kim
- Yang-Uk Kim
- Jonathan Kwok
- Bradley Leland
- Song Li
- Dr. John Liu
- Tan Nguyen
- Michael Ong
- Youngbum Song Foundation
- Rosa Sun
- Mary Ann Takemoto
- Christopher Villaflor
- Christina Woo