Now What?
About Our Project
“Now What?” is an ongoing initiative born out of the Spring 2023 HIST229S “Asian American Community History” course taught by Dr. Calvin Cheung-Miaw. This project unravels the history of the Duke Asian American and Diaspora (AADS) program and situates its creation and existence within the context of Duke’s Asian/American history from the 2000s to the present. The team conducted oral histories with affiliated faculty to expand upon the existing archival materials on student organizing and advocacy for the program. This webpage aims to visualize and disseminate this content in its raw form (e.g. audio files, images, archival documents), as well as synthesize and frame it as a reorientation towards the future. As such, our website will follow guiding questions: where do we come from, who are we in the present, and where are we heading?
Alice Chun (she/Her)
Alice (she/her) is a senior at Duke University from Orange County, CA. Beyond her academic pursuits in Public Policy and Global Health, she has engaged in health policy research as a Margolis Scholar; served as the vice president of Defining Movement multicultural dance team; interned at the Duke Wellness Center; and co-founded KAjok, a Korean American student organization on campus. This project has offered a unique opportunity to hear and learn directly from individuals important to the history of Asian American activism at Duke. As a graduating senior, she is excited about the future growth and impact of this project on Asian American Studies at Duke and the broader community.
Thang Lian (He/Him)
My name is Thang and I am Chin (an Indigenous group in Myanmar). I was born in Hakha, Myanmar and immigrated to Michigan when I was five years old in 2008. I am a rising sophomore at Duke University pursuing degrees in History and International Comparative Studies. Simultaneously, I am working towards a minor in Asian American Diaspora Studies. I currently serve as the Political Co-chair for the Asian Students Association, Community Building for Duke LIFE, member of the Student Board of Conduct, intern for the Asian American Education Project, and member of the Asian American Studies Working Group. I am a Rubenstein scholar and Mellon Mays Fellow whose interests lie in Asian American community history, specifically using Indigenous and Critical Refugee Studies frameworks to investigate and examine the formation of Chin communities in the United States.
Lauren Khine (She/Her)
Lauren is a first-year at Duke University from New York, NY. She is currently pursuing a co-major in Global Health and Economics, with a possible minor in Asian American Diaspora Studies. Outside of academics, she served as the Events Coordinator for the East Campus Council. Next year, she will serve as the Events Chair of Asian Students Association and a Partner in the Duke Consulting Club. This was her first archival research project, offering her invaluable exposure to the AADS program and its history, as well as the fortune to work with and learn from her wonderful team members. She is grateful for the Asian/American student activism that preceded the Duke experience with which she is currently blessed.
Miriam Shams-Rainey (she/they)
Miriam is a Bangladeshi/American senior at Duke University from Dallas, TX (unceded Jumanos, Wichita, Kiikaapoi, and Tawakoni land) with a major in CS and minors in AADS and Linguistics. Some of her favorite projects at Duke included building a painting robot with a team of engineers, creating an experimental electronic musical instrument, organizing with the Asian American Studies Working Group, and, of course, the work she’s done on this project! She’s eternally grateful to past and present student organizers and Asian/American community members at Duke who have shared their wisdom with her, and she hopes this project passes down at least a fraction of that knowledge to future generations.
