7 p.m.
UW Professor of English Shawn Wong has been working on his DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) statement for 50 years (38 years at the UW) and is almost finished. He began writing it when, as an undergraduate, he was told that Asian American literature did not exist, that his writing had too much style to be written by him, that his first students could not get English credit for taking his Asian American literature classes, and that large corporations could question his birthright and his ownership of intellectual property. His first book, Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian American Writers, turns 50 in 2024 and it’s where this DEI travel story begins.
Shawn Wong will be joined in conversation by Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs Ed Taylor.