Welcome Back! We said goodbye to Professor Lori Lopez, who transitioned to her new role as L&S Associate Dean for the Social Sciences, but welcomed Professor Peggy Choy as our interim Asian American Studies Program Director! Thank you both for your leadership and for all your contributions to the program!
Professor Peggy Choy is an Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Specializing in Asian dance (Korean and Javanese forms), Asian martial and vital energy arts, she teaches her contemporary Dance Noetics that encompasses Asian/Asian American dance, martial arts and vital energy thought, practice, and explorations into Afro-Asian fusion. Her courses include Asian American Movement, Afro-Asian Fusion, Taijiquan, and Javanese dance.
Prof. Choy is also the artistic director of Peggy Choy Dance. Peggy Choy Dance investigates Afro Asian dance intersections with an ensemble of diverse dancers that focuses on BIPOC and women’s stories, and calls for environmental and social justice through revolutionary transformation. Choy’s New York premieres include “Seung Hwa: Rape/Race/Rage/Revolution”, “THE GREATEST! Hip Dance Homage to Muhammad Ali”, “THIRST” and “FLIGHT”.
Prof. Choy brings a long commitment of bosltering the Asian American Studies Program and its students. Most recently in Fall 2023, Prof. Choy donated her personal collection of program documents to the University Archive. On donating her collection to the University, she shares, “It is deeply satisfying knowing that these materials will be made available to the next generation interested in Asian American Studies and activism that connects to our roots.” We are thrilled to work with Prof. Choy and our students to continue to explore and utilize our rich Asian American Studies archive here at UW-Madison.
We have a number of exciting events lined up this semester and we hope you all can join us! If you would like to receive our weekly newsletter and join our email listervs, please email us at asianamerican@letsci.wisc.edu.