2025 Theme for HC

What sustains our bodies and our well-being? 
What does food mean and symbolize for us? 
With whom do we eat and commune?
What rituals do we perform while eating and practicing care? 
How do these meanings and practices travel across borders?
Whose labor is expended in order for us to eat and maintain our health? 
What impact do we have on our environment and our communities in order to feed and nurture ourselves? 

The UCI Humanities Center will explore these questions through our annual theme of “Food and Nurturance” for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Flyer for Food and Nurturance event

Please join us for a kick-off event for a roundtable conversation on:

Islands, Nations, and the Global Circulation of Asian Food

Friday, October 24, 2025
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Humanities Gateway Rm. 1030

12:00 pm Reception

Please click to RSVP

Co-sponsored by:

Asian American Studies, Environmental Humanities Research Center, Humanities Center, Humanities Core, Long U.S. China Institute, Illuminations, Office of Excellence

 

For more information, please contact Professor Judy Wu (j.wu@uci.edu).

Speakers

Image of Yong Chen
Professor of History, Associate Dean at UCI, and author of Chop Suey, U.S.A.: The Rise of Chinese Food in America
Yong Chen
Professor of History, Associate Dean at UCI, and author of Chop Suey, U.S.A.: The Rise of Chinese Food in America
Image of Dana Collins
Professor of Sociology at California State University, Fullerton and author of “‘Eat That Nostalgia’: Filipino Foodways and Food Consciousness in LA”
Dana Collins
Professor of Sociology at California State University, Fullerton and author of “‘Eat That Nostalgia’: Filipino Foodways and Food Consciousness in LA”
Ping Chen Hsiung Image
CIPSH (International Council for Philosophy and Humanities Studies) Chair in New Humanities at UCI and professor of history and director of the Taiwan Research Centre at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Ping Chen Hsiung
CIPSH (International Council for Philosophy and Humanities Studies) Chair in New Humanities at UCI and professor of history and director of the Taiwan Research Centre at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Alyssa Paredes Image
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan and co-editor of Halo-Halo Ecologies: The Emergent Environments behind Filipino Food
Alyssa Paredes
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan and co-editor of Halo-Halo Ecologies: The Emergent Environments behind Filipino Food

Moderator

Judy Wu Image
Chancellor’s professor of History and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine. She also serves as faculty director of the Humanities Center and Associate Dean in the School of Humanities of Research, Faculty Development, and Public
Judy Tzu-Chun Wu
Chancellor’s professor of History and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine. She also serves as faculty director of the Humanities Center and Associate Dean in the School of Humanities of Research, Faculty Development, and Public