Exploring the F-word in religion at the intersection of scholarship, activism, and community.
“I rejoice in this most recent admission of institutional racism. I am not naïve enough to believe that this public acknowledgment, like previous ones to other racial-ethnic groups, was untainted by political calculations. But I am also not Kantian (so I reject the view that anything done out of mixed motives accordingly lacks moral merit).”
Continue reading “Government “Apologies” for Historical Injustices: Why They Matter”
“As we approach Memorial Day Weekend (and the militaristic patriotism it promotes), as the 2012 election cycle heats up, and as I meditate more deeply upon my and my country’s many riches, one of [Walter] Brueggemann’s prayers in particular spoke to me.”
One of the three books I took with me on vacation is by the world’s leading interpreter of the Old Testament, Walter Brueggemann. It’s not actually on the Bible, but something he published in 2008 called Prayers for a Privileged People.
Continue reading “A Prayer From the Privileged by Grace Yia-Hei Kao”
“Did you know that…the Asian population grew faster than any other race group in the United States between 2000 and 2010…[and that] Chinese is the second most widely spoken non-English language in the country (behind Spanish)”?
“The Grace of Sophia is an openly ‘syncretistic’ work.”
Continue reading “The Boldness of Grace Ji-Sun Kim by Grace Yia-Hei Kao”
“This ain’t your daddy’s conference!”
I knew that I was going to be attending a totally different type of conference than I had ever been to before when I received the following instructions on additional items to pack: (1) my own mug with which to drink coffee or tea (“we will go green in this conference as much as possible”), (2) 3 oz. of water “from a source of nature near your home” to be offered during “opening worship,” and (3) a small, modest, pre-owned, homemade, or inexpensive “earth-honoring gift for exchange.”
Continue reading “My First Experience at a Women-Only Conference by Grace Yia-Hei Kao”
“[G]rowing numbers of Asian Americans are not taking a ‘wait and see’ approach about whether elite colleges are discriminating against Asian Americans on account of their race, but have been acting under the assumption that they have been and still are.”
Asian Americans and Harvard University have been in the news and on my mind recently. The bigger story has been about the “Linsanity” surrounding (Harvard grad) New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin who continues to take the NBA by storm.
The smaller story, though one that also made national headlines in early February, is of the recent decision by the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate a complaint that Harvard and Princeton Universities discriminate against Asian Americans in admissions. Continue reading ““Passing” for White to Get Into Harvard? By Grace Yia-Hei Kao”
“Thrifting fits the ‘reduce-reuse-recycle’ mantra so well…Thrifting may not be the most efficient way to shop, but I love how it encourages me to see the value in old things…”
Continue reading “Why I Thrift (and How I Got Started) by Grace Yia-Hei Kao”
“[E]thical interest in nonhuman animals is flourishing.”
To my delight, the New York Times recently chronicled the growing scholarly interest in human/non-human animal interactions in a story entitled “Animal Studies Cross Campus to Lecture Hall.” There are now more than 100 courses in colleges and universities in the burgeoning field of animal studies. At least 40 U.S. law schools now routinely offer courses in animal law. A growing number of formal academic programs, book series, journals, conferences, institutes, and fellowships are also dedicated to (re)examining human-animal relations from a variety of disciplinary perspectives—“art, literature, sociology, anthropology, film, theater, philosophy, [and] religion,” to name a few.
Continue reading “(Non-Human) Animals on the Agenda by Grace Yia-Hei Kao”
“I am honored to be the first person of Taiwanese heritage, and first Asian American woman, to have earned tenure at CST.”
I’ve recently recounted how it took a village for me to complete the rite of passage known as tenure review. I want to reflect now on the significance of my having become the first Asian American woman (n.b., third Asian American of any gender), and first person of Taiwanese descent to have earned tenure at my institution.
My first thought upon realizing those statistics was something like: “Wow−what an honor!”
But my second thought has been more like: “Really? How is it possible that simply being a newly tenured Asian American who is neither Korean nor male would be enough for me to make institutional history?” Continue reading “Getting Tenure, Part II: On Being the First of My Kind by Grace Yia-Hei Kao”
“[T]he many sacrifices made for my career have not been borne by me alone….Here are some of the ‘villagers’ to whom I owe a debt of gratitude.”
On December 1, 2011, the full professors at Claremont School of Theology unanimously recommended two of my colleagues and me for tenure. Provided that the Board of Trustees approves their recommendation and two extremes never come to pass (either “financial exigency” compels my institution to start laying off people willy-nilly or I do something professionally or morally egregious enough to be dismissed “for cause”), I now have a job for life! :) Continue reading “Getting Tenure, Part I: It Took a Village by Grace Yia-Hei Kao”
Feminism and Religion 