The Asian American Studies Program is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the scholarship and experiences of Americans, Pacific Islanders, and immigrants to the United States from Asian and Asian American heritage groups. The program sheds light on Asian American experiences and concerns, both historically and in contemporary times.
The program offers a certificate in Asian American Studies, and a HMoob American Studies emphasis. Throughout the academic year the program fosters community through gatherings, speaking events, study breaks and more.
Welcome!
Fall '25 with Asian American Studies
Events
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Nov17
Standing Above the Clouds @ 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm Morgridge Hall, WARF Centennial Room 7650 Standing Above the Clouds
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Nov18
Vietnamerica - GETSEA Simulcast Film Screening Nancy Bui @ 4:00 pm 1111 Mosse Humanities Vietamerica
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Nov19
Fall 2025 Study Break! @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Multicultural Student Center, Red Gym
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Dec02
Queering the Hmong Diaspora: Racial Subjectivity and the Myth of Hyperheterosexuality Dr. Kong Pheng Pha @ 4:30 pm Ingraham Hall 336, 1155 Observatory Dr., Madison Wi 53706 Queering the Hmong Diaspora
A Tradition Revisited.
Read our latest edition of BRIDGES 2.0 to tap into the accomplishments, growth and journeys of our AAS faculty, students and community in 2024/2025.
Program News
New Book Releases from AASP Faculty
We’re thrilled to announce that two of our esteemed faculty members in the Asian American Studies Program are releasing new books this month! See below for the book features and stay tuned for upcoming events and book …
October 8, 2025Summer Highlight: AAS-Hmoob Certificate Students in Vietnam Textile Internship
Our Asian American/AASP Badgers have had a busy summer! This past summer, four students spent six weeks in Vietnam as part of the inaugural Hmong Design Studies Internship, made possible by donors of the School …
September 5, 2025May 2025 Faculty Highlight: AAPIDA Month at the Capitol
This past Asian American (AAPIDA) Heritage Month was one of particular importance for us here at UW-Madison. April 2025 marks the 50th year of the end of the Vietnam War that triggered the displacement and …
June 4, 2025April 2025: Badgers in Boston for AAAS Conference!
This past April, numerous faculty and students presented at the annual conference for Association of Asian American Studies in Boston, MA! Shout out to all the presenters’ fascinating interdisciplinary work, and special congratulations …
June 4, 20252025 Amy Ling Yellow Light Award Recipients
Established in 2005, the Amy Ling Legacy Fund has supported our Asian American Studies program through funding our mission on campus and off. This year, we are honored to announce the 2025 winners of the …
April 14, 2025Faculty Spotlight: Rachel Kuo Talks Feminisms, Social Movements & Making Zines
Dr. Rachel Kuo (she/her) joined the UW-Madison community in Fall 2024 as an Assistant Professor in Gender and Women Studies, and in our Asian American Studies program. Previously she served as an Assistant Professor of …
January 17, 202535 Years of Asian American Studies: Past, Present, and Future
Join us in celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the Asian American Studies Program at UW-Madison and opening of the AASP Oral History Project exhibit currently on display in the Class of 1973 Gallery. The event …
April 4, 2023#AtlantaSyllabus
Syllabus PDF Available Here On March 16, 2021, eight people were killed at Atlanta-area spa businesses — six of whom were Asian women. Despite the fact that two of the women were Chinese and four were Korean, news media were quick to deny racist motivations. Worse yet, an official spokesperson for the sheriff’s office investigating…
May 4, 2021
News Around Campus
AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
New Junior Faculty
Kong Pheng Pha
Professor Pha will be joining us as an Assistant Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies and Asian American Studies. He will teach AAS 170 Hmong American Experiences in the U.S in the fall and AAS 240 Hmong Refugee Texts in the spring.
Mai See Thao
Professor Thao will be joining us as an Anna Julia Cooper Postdoctoral Fellow, and will begin in Fall 2024 as an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Asian American Studies.
Rachel Kuo
Professor Kuo will be joining us this fall as as an Assistant Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies and Asian American Studies. In the spring she will teach AAS 240 Asian American Activism
All the Flowers Kneeling by Professor Paul Tran