Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2026
As we enter the month of May, we’d like to take a moment to celebrate our community members who identify as Asian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and/or Pacific Islander for AANPI Heritage Month. We’re proud to share these stories and recognize the exceptional work and ways in which CLA scholars are improving their communities, and the world.
Connecting communities through language, culture and research
Asian language educators created a curriculum that goes beyond grammar — connecting students with Minnesota’s communities and cultures.
A new audiobook aims to meet Hmong listeners where they're at. It's one of few English books translated into Hmong and recorded in Hmong. Its translator is head of the Hmong language program at the University of Minnesota Bee Vang-Moua.
New research co-authored by Vanessa Lee explores how attention and behavioral responses shape memory and perception during multitasking.
Helen Zia joined a dynamic group of panelists for a Fireside Chat at the University of Minnesota’s Coffman Memorial Theater.
The UMN Hmong Corpus Launch Celebration
Celebrate the launching of the UMN Hmong Corpus and see what the project team has accomplished this year, in partnership with the Hmong Cultural Center, as one of the Liberal Arts Engagement Hub’s Residencies at the University of Minnesota.
The Liberal Arts Engagement Hub is located on the first floor of Pillsbury Hall, Room 120. Visit The Hub's Location and Directions page for more information about parking and navigation.
Please RSVP by April 27 to help with planning. RSVP is appreciated but not required.
De-stress with AAS
Join the Asian American Studies Program (AAS) for a destressing event with snacks, drinks, and crafting activities on Wednesday, May 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Social Sciences Building. Light refreshments will be provided. This event is free and open to the U of M community. Registration is not required, but appreciated for planning purposes. Walk-ins are welcome too!
Telling stories that matter
Associate Professor Yuichiro Onishi has been appointed director of the Liberal Arts Engagement Hub.
Joining the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies department this fall, Huang teaches courses exploring the use of animals in East Asian Literature and Media, as well as how humans function in an age of Artificial Intelligence and virtual reality.
When Jason Momoa and Thomas Paʻa Sibbett’s Chief of War premiered on Apple TV in August 2025, large audiences were introduced to Ka‘iana, a Hawaiian chief (ali‘i) who lived over 200 years ago.
Historian and author David Aiona Chang invites us to consider the deeper significance of what happens when history meets mainstream media.
Read “Who Was Ka‘iana?”
Undergraduate Degrees in Asian American and Asian Studies
Minor in Asian American Studies
BA in Asian & Middle Eastern Studies
Minor in Asian & Middle Eastern Studies
Integrated BA/MA Program in Asian & Middle Eastern Studies
Find your next read
Celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month with the Asian American Studies Program by checking out our book display in the basement of Wilson Library near the entrance to the Tutoring and Academic Success Center (TASC).
Program in Asian American Studies
Taking our inspiration from the words of Grace Lee Boggs, we "embrace the idea that we are the leaders we've been looking for."
Asian American Studies (AAS) recognizes both the uniqueness of Minnesota's Asian American populations as well as their commonalities with each other and with other Asian American communities across the nation. Community interests and concerns shape all of our curriculum, research projects, and outreach work.
With our locale, community resources, and faculty, we are helping create new models of teaching Asian American history, politics, literature, and cultures.
