Beyond studies of marquee figures such as I.M. Pei, Minoru Yamasaki, and Maya Lin, robust histories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans (AAPI) seen through the lens of built spaces, landscapes, and environments have yet to be written. As the fastest growing demographic in the United States, AAPIs have been present in the country for centuries, not just since the post-World War Two period. However, their presence has been marginalized and at times even criminalized. Correspondingly, studies of American architecture rarely engage in meaningful ways with designers and patrons of AAPI heritage, significant projects for AAPI communities, and especially AAPI vernacular building practices. Acknowledging that AAPI is an expedient label rather than a cohesive or homogenous group or “race,” this roundtable wishes to promote new thinking that challenges existing definitions and limitations of race and of architecture as these inform understandings of Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora to the US.
The roundtable seeks contributions from scholars, practitioners, activists, and advocates for preserving aspects of the built environment and landscape significant in AAPI heritage. It aims to prioritize empirically-based research that illuminates the broad range of architects, landscape architects, and vernacular builders of Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander descent who left an imprint on the cultural landscapes of US territories and protectorates. Studies that deal with issues of transcultural movement, race relations, indigeneity, gender, sexuality, and/or immigrant identity are of special interest to the roundtable editors. Interdisciplinary approaches are highly encouraged. The editors are committed to working with the chosen contributors to develop their ideas.
Submission Guidelines
A JSAH roundtable consists of a series of short essays, each of approximately 1000 words, that will be collectively published in the place of a single article in an issue of JSAH. This format provides an opportunity for a range of contributors to explore new research directions through a variety of lenses, alongside the traditional full-length articles that are the JSAH mainstay. We welcome submissions by individuals at different career stages (including independent scholars) and different types of institutions (universities, government agencies, museums) that are diverse in their gender, racial, and national composition. To propose an essay for the roundtable, please submit a CV and a one-page abstract for review by roundtable editors Gail Dubrow, Sean McPherson, and Alice Y. Tseng to the following address: aytseng@bu.edu.
Deadline for proposal submissions: 15 January 2023
