AAPI Faculty Highlight

Professor Pitt is a Mandarin Chinese language instructor who teaches both Beginning and Intermediate levels, as well as Heritage Chinese and Special Topics related to Chinese.

Lily Pitt | Asian Studies | School of Liberal Arts Tulane University

How and why is teaching or working with AAPI-related content at Tulane significant to you?

"Since I was born and raised in China, I love using my knowledge of the Chinese language and culture to help students learn. I also want to bring fun and excitement into the classroom, and I try to be understanding of my students' needs. My students inspire me to be a better teacher and communicator on a daily basis. To foster relationships outside the classroom, I meet with students at PJ's on Willow on Fridays and bring snacks for them."

How has your identity as an AAPI professor/staff affected the way you teach or interact with your students, if at all?

"After the pandemic, I wanted to bring joyfulness to my classes and motivate students to achieve their potential by always trying to connect with each student on a different level."

Dr. Naruse is an Assistant Professor of English and the Mellon Assistant Professor of the Humanities. She has taught Asian Diasporic Literature, Postcolonial Literature and Theory, and Literary Theory.

Cheryl Naruse | Department of English | School of Liberal Arts Tulane University

How and why is teaching or working with AAPI-related content at Tulane significant to you?

"It feels important to be doing this work, given the uptick of anti-Asian racism in the country and the lack of critical conversations on campus."

How has your identity as an AAPI professor/staff affected the way you teach or interact with your students, if at all?

"I am who I am, but I think that sometimes students find it surprising to have an Asian American woman as their English professor."

Do you believe Tulane supports the AAPI community on campus? What initial steps could be taken towards improvement?

"I'd love to see more Asian American studies courses and faculty; more student advocacy and collaborations between AASU and other multicultural student organizations, and more scholarly interchange between Asian studies and other academic units on issues of race!"

Dr. V teaches introductory courses for Cell and Molecular Biology, as well as related service-learning components. She also teaches Genetics and Molecular Biology of Cancer.

Meena Vijayaraghavan | School of Science & Engineering

How and why is teaching or working with AAPI-related content at Tulane significant to you?

“ln the past, I had been invited to Chai Talks hosted by the India Association of Tulane University (IATU). In the last meeting, which was over Zoom, there was a discussion on Indian art—particularly my engagement with Bharatanatyam, a form of South Indian classical dance. I think this connection was personal to me because it both helped me connect with students who have or wanted to engage with activities such as dance and allowed me to share my experiences outside of the classroom.”

What does your AAPI identity mean to you?

“My Indian identity has shaped my culture, my values, my beliefs, and how I view myself. It greatly influences my work ethic, the food I eat, the issues that speak to me, and the way I interact with feminism and transnationalism.”

Qing is the Senior Program Manager for the Center for Global Education (CGE).

Meet Our Team | Center for Global Education

How has your identity as an AAPI professor/staff affected the way you teach or interact with your students, if at all?

"As an AAPI staff in the field of international education, I find it easier to connect with other AAPI international students with our shared cultural backgrounds. My identity and my language skills allow me to provide diversified support to the international community at Tulane."

Do you believe Tulane supports the AAPI community on campus? If applicable, what initial steps could be taken towards improvement?

"I do believe that Tulane supports the AAPI community on campus. In my opinion, the next step towards improvement is to continue increasing AAPI representation on campus."

What does your AAPI identity mean to you?

"My AAPI identity is the foundation of who I am today. Growing up in two vastly different cultures, I often struggled with my identity as a child. I reconnected with the culture deeply rooted in me as an adult, and I am proud of my cultural heritage."

Dr. Liu is currently the Research Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Neurology at the Clinical Neuroscience Research Center. He also teaches Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to summer students.

Ning Liu, PhD | Medicine

How and why is teaching or working with AAPI-related content at Tulane significant to you?

"I believe it is important in order to promote Asian culture, while also improving my own research."

Do you believe Tulane supports the AAPI community on campus? If applicable, what initial steps could be taken towards improvement?

"Yes, although I believe that providing more funding or grant opportunities for AAPI professors and staff would help increase support."

What does your AAPI identity mean to you?

"Due to my AAPI identity, I am able to broaden the influence of Asian American culture, traditions, and values."

Dr. Zhang teaches art history courses, particularly focusing on Asian art. Those courses include intro-level lectures—such as Tombs & Temples, Monks & Merchants, and Buddhist Art—and upper-level seminars—like Art of Death and Art of the Silk Road.

Fan Zhang | Newcomb Art Department | School of Liberal Arts Tulane University

How has your identity as an AAPI professor/staff affected the way you teach or interact with your students, if at all?

"As a first-generation immigrant from China, I am fully aware of the challenges faced by students from the AAPI community, especially our international students. So when working with students in and outside of the classroom, I would share my own experience to encourage the students and help them overcome those challenges."

Do you believe Tulane supports the AAPI community on campus? If applicable, what initial steps could be taken towards improvement?

"In recent years, Tulane is making progress in supporting minority groups, including the AAPI community. But there is more that can be done. I would love to see more events promoting Asian culture on campus. The Global Café featuring the Lunar New Year celebration and Viet Thanh Nguyen's talk are great examples. It would be better to have more talks, performances, and activities that increase the visibility of the AAPI community on campus."

Professor Chen is an Assistant Professor of Communication and Asian Studies. He teaches Chinese Cinema, Film Noir in Hollywood and East Asia, Film Analysis, Intro to Cinema, Controlling Cinema: Propaganda and Censorship, and Introduction to Asian Studies.

Hongwei Thorn Chen | Department of Communication | School of Liberal Arts Tulane University

How and why is teaching or working with AAPI-related content at Tulane significant to you?

"I teach a lot of film history. The presence of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in film is a crucial aspect of global cinema history and the way in which film has served as a modern medium for mediating cultural and racial differences. The fact that, for example, in twentieth-century Hollywood, Asian American actors have usually come to stand in for various Asian peoples undoes the idea, largely upheld by American cultural production, that cultures can be understood as self-contained wholes, an idea that has helped erase our complex presence in this country's history. I think it's important to teach these things at Tulane because AAPI histories are not currently part of the conversation about how we discuss race and nation here, and it becomes difficult to build infrastructures of anti-racist solidarity absent an understanding of our historical interconnectedness in BIPOC struggles against white supremacy."

How has your identity as an AAPI professor/staff affected the way you teach or interact with your students, if at all?

"Race structures how I take up space in the classroom whether I want it to or not. Where appropriate, I try to make my identity a conduit for students to make discoveries and test identifications with bits and pieces of our globalized culture that are usually glossed over."