Gender, Race, Sexuality and #Asianness

Dear class

Dear class,

I wanted to welcome you to GRSJ 230, a class on gender, race, sexuality and representation in modern Asia.

Whenever I tell people about the topic of this course, more often than not, they give me a puzzled look and ask, “What’s modern Asia?”

Good question, I reply. That’s a lot of what we’ll be talking about: what counts as “modern Asia.” Is it geographic (i.e. the continent of Asia)? Is it a time period (i.e. as opposed to “traditional” Asia, whatever that means)? Is it about people who are “Asian” today (i.e. a diaspora of people around the planet)?

All these questions raise further questions about what this class is “about.” And if you’re wondering who this class is “for”–do I belong in this class?–then you’re not the only one.

In fact, I could well wonder the same thing: do I, a second generation CBC (Chinese-Born Canadian) cisgender man who studied English Literature, belong in this class?

The truth is, the question of who this class is “for” and “about” is precisely the problem of this class and what makes it so interesting. Many of us in the class will be differently positioned relative to the topics we will be discussing; I will be inviting guest speakers who will be differently positioned as well.

We will each need to figure out our individual relationships to the topics. We will probably have difficult conversations across our many differences, but in the end, these differences may be what we share and what will challenge us to learn.

I am looking forward to our conversations. Please let me know about any questions you have by leaving a comment below or messaging me directly.

All my best,

Ray

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