The Academic-Activist Matrix: Mobilizing Ethnic Studies to Confront the Neoliberal University
by Long T. Bui
ABSTRACT: This article discusses the institutional challenges and opportunities of implementing Asian American Studies (AAS) and Ethnic Studies (ES) college curriculum in the University of California and beyond. These personal observations are built on my involvement in the national, community, and student-led movement for Ethnic Studies in the state and across the nation. While scholars and educational practitioners have already documented the difficult history of implementing these programs—building them into full-fledged departments with faculty lines with a strong number of majors—there is still room to consider other pertinent social issues. Connecting scholar-activism in the UC system with AAS-mobilizing efforts in CSU and in elite private liberal arts schools, I discuss the following issues related to the implementation of ES as a state requirement: (1) academic senate faculty participation in governance, (2) engaging student activism and apathetic faculty, (3) forging inter-institutional collaboration across school systems, (4) fighting for faculty unions and political associations, (5) reducing over-professionalization of the field, and (6) challenging administrative surveillance and infringement on academic freedom. As a central theme, I speak to the “academic-activist matrix” to engage differently educational activism within the academic-military-industrial complex, considering the endless possibilities for re-creating the university that we collectively desire and want.
Article Citation: Long T. Bui (2024) The Academic-Activist Matrix: Mobilizing Ethnic Studies to Confront the Neoliberal University. AAPI Nexus: Policy, Practice and Community: 2024, Vol. 21, No. 1 & 2.