About the Exhibition
This digital exhibition showcases work produced by students enrolled in the Spring 2020 section of Contemporary Issues in Asian American Studies: Disney and the Politics of Representation at Purdue University. Over the course of the semester, our class examined the politics of Asian American and Pacific Islander representation in media and popular culture using Disney as a case study. The central questions of this course were: What is “good” representation? What does it look like? Who defines it? What are its effects? After discussing various stereotypes of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Disney’s productions, students were tasked with proposing a revision to an existing Disney production or a brand new Disney production that they thought would be “good” representation of these communities. The items showcased here visualize the students’ proposals and offer their perspectives on new ways to depict Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in media.
If you would like to view the assignment sheet for this project, please click the button below.
If you would like to view the assignment sheet for this project, please click the button below.
Note: All projects included in this online exhibition have been shared publicly with written consent from the students. These projects were produced solely for academic purposes.
About the Instructor
Rachel Bonini is a PhD candidate in the American Studies Program at Purdue University. She received her master’s degree from Purdue’s American Studies Program and her bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Creighton University. Her research interests include settler colonial studies, indigenous studies, Asian American/Pacific Islander studies, and the intersections of U.S. empire and popular culture. Rachel is currently writing her dissertation, titled Imagineered Imperial Tourism: Disney & U.S. Empire in Hawai‘i, which historicizes and examines Disney’s current participation in settler colonialism and U.S. empire in Hawai‘i.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Purdue’s Asian American Studies Program, especially Dr. Monica M. Trieu, Director, for giving me the opportunity to teach this course and for supporting the work of these students this semester.
I am also incredibly grateful to Dr. Pam Sari and all of the staff at the Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center (AAARCC) for collaborating on this project and sharing this exhibition with the Purdue community. I have appreciated their unwavering enthusiasm for this showcase and for finding ways to modify it to meet the demands of our new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I am also incredibly grateful to Dr. Pam Sari and all of the staff at the Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center (AAARCC) for collaborating on this project and sharing this exhibition with the Purdue community. I have appreciated their unwavering enthusiasm for this showcase and for finding ways to modify it to meet the demands of our new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic.