Joseph Wei--Working to build a stronger foundation for Asian American studies at UGA

By Anna Rafferty

The English department is excited to welcome Dr. Joseph Wei to Park Hall. His research interests range from poetry and poetics to critical refugee studies and Asian American literature. In particular, Wei is looking forwards to working with students and faculty to build a stronger foundation for Asian American studies here at UGA.

“In general, most people who take my classes know very little about Asian American history or politics. My biggest challenge is filling in some of these gaps for my students, and creating an understanding of how Asian American history and culture can inform our understanding of the US writ large,” Wei said. 

Wei has recognized a recent uptick in the popularity of Asian American literature, but also emphasizes that such works have not always been considered mainstream in historical context.

“I also try to emphasize…how earlier writers like Carlos Bulosan or Janice Mirikitani thought of literature as an important site of political visibility and imagination in an era of exclusion,” he said.

Wei’s work in critical refugee studies is also rooted in world history. The main event which sparked his interest is the Vietnam War.

“I wanted to understand their [Southeast Asian diasporic poets] creative output, as well as the literary communities they formed with one another. The Asian American writers I study pierce through the ideologies that define refugees in these very limited ways: e.g., as victims, in need of rescue from benevolent Western nations,” he said. 

Wei’s study of these writers has inspired a book titled Refugee Poetics, which is currently in progress.

“I noticed in my research that many of these poets were involved in literary organizations, both national (like Kundiman or the Asian American Writers’ Workshop) or more local (such as the Hmong American Writers’ Circle in Fresno, CA),” he said. “So the book project came together as an idea to interpret the creative output of these poets as products of the literary organizing and community-building they also engage in.”

Being able to engage with these writers, Wei says, has been a highly fulfilling experience. However, writing the book has still involved a learning curve.

“The most challenging part has been trying to strike a good balance between the interviews and the poetry, something I’m still trying to figure out now.”