The David and Tina Yamano Nishida Distinguished Lectureship in Asian American Studies presents

WHO WE BE:

THE COLORIZATION OF AMERICA

by JEFF CHANG

Book Talk & Signing with the Author

Wednesday, November 5th, 2014
4:00-6:00PM
UCLA - Humanities A51

Race. A four-letter word. The greatest social divide in American life, a half-century ago and today.

During that time, the U.S. has seen the most dramatic demographic and cultural shifts in its history, what can be called the colorization of America. But the same nation that elected its first Black president on a wave of hope—another four-letter word—is still plunged into endless culture wars.

How do Americans see race now? How has that changed—and not changed—over the half-century? After eras framed by words like "multicultural" and "post-racial," do we see each other any more clearly?

WHO WE BE remixes comic strips and contemporary art, campus protests and corporate marketing campaigns, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Trayvon Martin into a powerful, unusual, and timely cultural history of the idea of racial progress. In this follow-up to the award-winning classic Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, Jeff Chang brings fresh energy, style, and sweep to the essential American story.

The event is sponsored by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the David and Tina Yamano Nishida Distinguished Lectureship. It is co-sponsored by the Institute of American Cultures, American Indian Studies Center, American Indian Studies Interdepartmental Program, Asian American Studies Department, Bunche Center for African American Studies, Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicana/o Studies, Chicano Studies Research Center, Department of African American Studies, Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies Undergraduate Association, Asian American Studies Graduate Student Association, and Asian Pacific Coalition.

About the author: 

JEFF CHANG has written extensively on culture, politics, the arts, and music.

His first book, Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, garnered many honors, including the American Book Award and the Asian American Literary Award. He edited the book, Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop. He is currently at work on two other book projects: Youth (Picador Big Ideas/Small Books series), and a biography of Bruce Lee (Little, Brown).

Jeff has been a USA Ford Fellow in Literature and a winner of the North Star News Prize. He was named by The Utne Reader as one of "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World". With H. Samy Alim, he was the 2014 winner of the St. Clair Drake Teaching Award at Stanford University.

Jeff co-founded CultureStr/ke and ColorLines. He has written for the The Nation, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Believer, Foreign Policy, and Mother Jones, among many others.

He is a graduate of the UCLA Asian American Studies Masters program and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University.

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PARKING AND DIRECTIONS

Parking Structure 2 is the closest lot.

Short-term/hourly parking can be purchased at the Pay-By-Space Stations in Structure 2. It is $3/hr. Cash & credit cards accepted.

Day passes can be purchased at the Pay-By-Space Stations in Structure 2 or at the Parking and Information Booth located at 480 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (on the corner of Hilgard and Westholme Blvd.). It is $12/day. Cash only.

For more parking information, visit http://bit.ly/parkucla

For questions or more info on the event, contact events@aasc.ucla.edu or 310-825-2974