Mark Tseng-Putterman

Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), founded in 1991 and based in Washington, DC, works to advance the human and civil rights of Asian Americans and build and promote a fair and equitable society for all. To achieve this mission, the organization engages in policy advocacy, research, public education, community capacity building and mobilization, and litigation strategies. The Communications/Narrative Change Specialist will be tasked with the strategic goal of increasing the visibility and understanding of Asian Americans as integral to the fabric of America. By serving as the project lead on initiatives that aim to change harmful narratives about Asian Americans, they will draw on research and policy to shape public perceptions of Asian Americans. They will apply their humanities training to influence some of the most pressing social and racial justice issues of our time.

“The Internationalists: Asian/American Politics in the Shadow of Cold War Empire” charts a social history of Asian/American internationalism during the Cold War. Examining community engagements with three geopolitical flashpoints—the US-Japan Security Treaty, US nonrecognition of the People’s Republic of China, and US support for martial law in the Philippines—this project tracks how US foreign policy shaped diasporic experiences of race and empire at the global and local level. Considering Asian/American internationalism at the crossroads of domestic claims to US citizenship and international claims to state sovereignty, this dissertation explores how diverse transnational identifications revealed the enduring structure of empire in an ostensibly postcolonial era.