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Personal
Profile:
I grew up in and around Chinatown in Seattle, Washington in the 1950s
and '60s. I went to college on the East Coast, then fled back to the
West Coast to go to graduate school at UC Berkeley and make a family
in San Francisco. I have since lived and taught in Minnesota, China,
Ohio, and Hawai`i. Along the way I picked up a flock of good friends
and growth-inducing experiences. UCSB is my tenth university and I hope
my final home. My two children, now college students, are the joy of
my life.
Research
Interests:
Ethnic questions are the questions of my life. I have been blessed to
spend most of my life immersed in racial populations and cultural traditions
that are different from my own. I have written about many different
peoples, from religious minorities in China to African Americans in
the 1940s to Japanese Americans to Pacific Islanders to multiracial
people. As a historian, I try to make a way for individual humans' experiences
to be understood by others, for their voices to be heard. As a sometime
sociologist, I am trying to figure out how we comprehend and manage
our sense of ethnic connection to other people.
Teaching
Style:
Teaching style doesn't matter. Passion matters. If a professor cares
passionately about his or her subject matter, and cares passionately
that the student learn, then both teacher and student will have a good
experience and will grow. As for my style, I like most to listen, to
learn who my students are, and then to nudge them toward things they
haven't thought about. But in fact, in class I spend a lot of time running
around waving my arms and telling stories. Much of my students' most
important learning comes outside of class, when they are alone with
the books, or when they are writing and trying to express their thoughts.
Idea
of a Good Time:
Playing an intramural basketball game at midnight. Running on the beach
at dawn. Writing feverishly for ten hours at a stretch. Hanging out
with friends. Hiking the Sierras. Just watching my kids. Reading almost
anything. Listening to that voice that is deep, deep inside.
Most
Important Thing to Learn in College:
Learn to talk back. Don't whack on other people. But don't just take
in information. Analyze what your professors, your fellow students,
and the books you read are saying. Form and express opinions about what
you are hearing and reading. Search out new information on the subject,
even if it contradicts what you have been told or you may have thought
at first. Let new ideas and information really sink in. Write about
what you are learning. Listen to the responses you get to your opinions
and your writing. Take this time to explore and grow.
Advice
for New Students at UCSB:
Take the risk to really learn. Engage with your teachers. Explore that
subject that is just off your intellectual map, that you always wanted
to learn about but don't have a good reason for. Dare to grow.
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