University of California, Los Angeles Department of Asian American Studies Pilipino Concentration

The University of California, Los Angeles Asian American (UCLA) Studies Department, on April 15, 2009, officially approved a Pilipino concentration.

It was created with the hope of providing an academic space for students to learn about Pilipino culture and history. The Department was lobbied hard by students at UCLA.

The concentration’s proposal was initially modeled after a University of California, Riverside (UCR) motion for a minor in Pilipino studies, which is still pending. The concentration will take the available classes and market them as a specific track towards a degree in Asian American studies.

Efforts for the concentration began in the fall of 2007, consisting of two years of researching, planning and strategizing with faculty, alumni, and graduate and undergraduate students. The planning also involved an open forum was held for students and staff of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center to form a consensus after concerns about pan-Asian issues.

Some concerns included what the concentration would mean for other Asian American groups and whether the proliferation of more specializations could lead to more separation within the Asian American community. The concensus was that the concentration would not be a contraction into a sub-ethnicity. It would rather use an understanding of Pilipino studies to broaden it out to toher fields, as well as institutionalize the diversity of the field by recognizing the connections that can be made.