On Tuesday March 22, Githa Hariharan, author of Almost Home: Finding a Place in the World from Kashmir to New York, will kick off a string of events in the United States with a discussion at Hunter College. Hariharan will be joined by Meena Alexander and Peter Kwong at the college's Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute. The event will be hosted by the Mapping Asian American New York group.

Peter Kwong is Distinguished Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College, as well as Professor of Sociology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is a pioneer in Asian American studies, a leading scholar of immigration, and an award-winning journalist and filmmaker, widely recognized for his passionate commitment to human rights and social justice.

Meena Alexander is an award winning author and scholar. Her new book of poetry, Atmospheric Embroidery, was published in 2015 by Hachette India. Her volumes of poetry include Birthplace with Buried Stones, Illiterate Heart (winner of the PEN Open Book Award), Raw Silk and Quickly Changing River. Her poetry has been translated into several languages and set to music. She has written the acclaimed autobiography, Fault Lines as well as two novels. She is author of the academic study Women in Romanticism and the book of essays Poetics of Dislocation. She is Distinguished Professor of English at the City University of New York andteaches at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

The Mapping Asian American New York (MAANY) faculty seminar, with a Hunter College home base, assembles a core group of major scholars from the academy, community experts from city nonprofit social welfare and health service agencies, leaders from ethnic and religious associations, as well as writers and journalists, to share their knowledge and perspectives.  The proposed MAANY faculty seminar seeks to identify, analyze, and discuss knowledge — or the lack thereof — on New York’s diverse Asian American communities. Such mapping would help to broaden both academic and public knowledge of the vital, often critical terrain of exactly who, what, why, where, and how Asians are influencing the New York City region and in turn, how they are adapting to the region’s unique characteristics.  Much fundamental information about  rapidly changing Asian American communities in New York City remains uncharted, due to the lack of a dedicated research hub committed to investigating and mapping these phenomena. On the East Coast, knowledge is scattered and deficient. There is a need for leadership to coordinate comparative research, dissemination and the understanding of all aspects of the Asian American population.  The research seminar series is based upon an integrative model based at Hunter College – working in conjunction with CUNY scholars and students at Baruch, City, John Jay, Queens, and Staten Island Colleges, and the Graduate Center, plus some selected faculty outside of the CUNY system – that supports both extant and new research through presentations by key CUNY faculty and outside experts, with the participation of graduate and advanced undergraduate students

When: Tuesday, March 22, 3:00 – 5:00

Where: Hunter College, Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, Second-Floor Conference Room, 47-49 E 65th St, New York, NY 10065