How does the theory of racial formation AND the framework of intersectionality challenge your thinking about race and racism?

Format for Posting Make sure you understand the instructions for writing a Rethinking post. The main purpose is for you to engage with course material in a way that is meaningful to you. Rethinking posts will be helpful resources for extended assignments throughout the course. Please use the following format: Example Word count: 325 (Make sure to give a word count. Aim for 300-325 words.) [Example prompt: What's your impression now of what might make Asian American Studies an important field of study?] Response: Before this week, I had thought that Asian American studies was just a simple presentation of basic information about Asians in the U.S.--like histories, data about population size, and ethnic cultures. That's why I had doubted Asian American studies could be more than just one course. I didn't think there was that much to know honestly. I had no idea that Asian American studies was the result of student activism in the 1960s, or in reaction to institutionalized Eurocentrism and racism in schooling (SF State: On Strike!). Nor did I know that Asian American studies was such a rich field, academically and intellectually speaking. I can now see that the perspectives presented by Asian American studies classes and scholarship can shape--maybe reshape--my understanding of power, institutions, and group relations with attention to race and racism in disciplines like education, political science, history, and art, just to name examples explained by Chan (p. 46-51). I never thought that studying Asian Americans would lead me to think about institutional power in society or the history of racism. Q1: How does Asian American studies fit in with "ethnic studies"? I want to understand the relationship between these two "disciplines." I have noticed a lot of controversy over teaching ethnic studies in the last few years, especially over African American studies in places like Florida. Are Asian American studies and African American studies both just different disciplines of ethnic studies? If so, why does it seem there is more resistance to African American studies in the country than Asian American studies? Q2: What's the difference between Asian American Studies and Asian Studies? I'm still not clear on the difference between studying Asian Americans and Asians. I'm guessing there is overlap since maybe "Asian Americans" are a subset of "Asians." Sucheng Chan situated Asian American studies within ethnic studies. What's the institutional history of Asian studies? Where does it diverge (and converge) with Asian American studies?