Anna Guevarra Commentary on the Value of Ethnic Studies and Gender Studies
A brief commentary written and delivered by our Founding Director, Prof. Anna Guevarra, at the Illinois Board of Trustees meeting on November 14, 2024.
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author. This commentary was sent to the Illinois Board of Trustees, President Killeen, and UIC campus leadership. Prof. Guevarra delivered a portion of this commentary at the Illinois Board of Trustees Meeting on November 14, 2024.
For more information, please contact: Professor Anna Guevarra (guevarra@uic.edu).
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November 14, 2024
A Brief Commentary on the Value of Ethnic Studies and Gender Studies at UIC.
President Killeen, Chancellor Miranda, Vice Chancellor Barish, Provost Colley, and Members of the Illinois Board of Trustees:
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I come before you as the Founding Director of the youngest of the interdisciplinary ethnic and gender studies academic units at UIC – the Global Asian Studies Program (or GLAS), which emerged from a two-decade student-led movement on this campus. I also serve as a Co-PI of the AANAPISI initiative which has brought $7.1 million to UIC to support first generation, immigrant, and low-income Asian American and Pacific Islander students. I came to UIC in 2007 to help build an ethnic studies program and I committed my career to that endeavor, stepping down last year after 12 years as the head of GLAS. I am here before you, on my sabbatical, to ensure that it survives and thrives.
As you are aware, academic programs that focus on the teaching of critical race, trans, and queer theory have been under attack. The mission of GLAS at UIC is clear – we study Asian and Asian American histories and also shifts in US racial formations including Islamaphobia and anti-Arab and Anti- Muslim racisms. Our intellectual projects are anchored by a commitment to understanding the inequalities that face our communities. Thus, in the aftermath of contemporary events such as the murder of George Floyd, the end of Affirmative Action, the resurgence of anti-Asian racism during COVID-19, and the ongoing genocide in Palestine, we have responded by offering our analysis and solidarity. And we do so from our interdisciplinary expertise and years of training that allow us to explain and reframe social discourse. Our expertise has been recognized by various competitive grants, fellowships and awards as well as invitations to contribute to policy work – too many to list in the short time I have.
Therefore, when we take positions and engage the public through our statements, we are speaking from our scholarly expertise and from our department’s intellectual mission. Any efforts to contest or threaten our ability to do so is not only ill informed but would also put us out of line with our departmental mission.
I come before you today with three asks:
One, I ask you to uplift, celebrate, and defend ethnic and gender studies as central to the curricular, intellectual and programmatic mission of our university and the state of IL. Ethnic studies emerged in the 1960s in public universities much like ours, with a mission to be more responsive to a diverse student body and their lived experiences. In today’s increasingly polarized society, we need ethnic and gender studies more than ever. We also have an obligation to honor our MSI designation -as an HSI and AANAPISI - and ensure that we are building the capacity of our institution to serve both underrepresented and underserved communities.
Two, I ask you all to uphold the spirit of the Minority Impact Statement at UIC – and to take seriously the disproportionate impact of policies on historically underrepresented and underserved minority communities. Because if we did, then my Palestinian student would not be asking this question: “how can a campus preach diversity and inclusion when Palestinians have to fend for themselves?”
And finally, I ask you to center our mission as a teaching institution and support programs that not only provide culturally relevant education but more importantly, provide our students with hope, courage, and skills that ultimately give them a sense of belonging in the university. Students who may disagree with our positions still find community in our program because we have taught them to think critically. That is how we can meet the mission of the University of Illinois to prepare tomorrow’s leaders – by taking inspiration from ethnic studies and engaging with the world critically, resisting hollow notions of diversity, and responding to the needs of our students. That is what my Palestinian student is ultimately asking for. And that is what we must deliver and defend in the coming years.