All Events
Patricia Selbert in Conversation with Pico Iyer. The House of Six Doors
MCC LOUNGE
In an intimate conversation with renowned author Pico Iyer, local author Patricia Selbert shares her experiences and excerpts from her recent novel, The House of Six Doors, a compelling story of immigration from the Caribbean Islands to California that follows a girl as she moves between two cultures, cradled between longing for her indigenous past and the glittering promise of her future in America. Born to Dutch parents in the jungles of Venezuela and raised in Curaçao, Selbert richly spices this novel with images from her own life and experiences. She artfully portrays the honest transformation of an immigrant family, moving from memories of a windswept island and a grandmother’s wisdom to the poignant integration and reality facing all American immigrants. Refreshments will be served.
Children’s Event
Silly Rabbit: Tricksters Are for Kids! Trickster Tales from Around the World. Boxtales
MCC THEATER
Join us for a fun and magical journey with wily creatures who teach us folk wisdom, morals, and life lessons in this collection of Trickster Tales from around the world. Through these stories, Boxtales inspires self-reliance and creative problem solving. Directed by the company, this show features performers Matt Tavianini, Michael Andrews, and Deven Sisler and beautiful masks by Ann Chevrefils and Lindsay Rust. Co-sponsored by UCSB Early Childhood Care & Education Services.
Race Matters Series
JUST ADDED! Busting the Myth: Are Asian Americans really up for it? Mitchell Chang
MCC LOUNGE
Recently, two stories have captured broad public attention. One surrounds parenting methods used to produce hyper achieving students (see Amy Chua's “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”) and another reports on how elite colleges hold APAs to higher admissions standards than applicants from other race groups (see Jon Marcus’ “Competitive Disadvantage”). These two stories are alike in that they both reinforce the stereotype of Asian Americans as model minorities. How Asian Americans respond to recent popular stories may well set the tone for our collective sense of self-determination. If Asian Americans really want to bust the model minority stereotype, which has become folklore, it will require nothing short of a radical resistance against social norms.
Mitchell J. Chang is Professor of Higher Education and Organizational Change and Asian American Studies (by courtesy) at UCLA. He has written over 70 publications, including a book that was cited in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling of Grutter v. Bollinger. Professor Chang received a National Academy of Education/Spencer Fellowship in 2001 and was awarded the Outstanding Outcomes Assessment Research Award, 1999-2000 by the American College Personnel Association. He was also profiled in 2006 as one of the nation’s top ten scholars under forty by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education and in 2008, he received the ACPA Asian Pacific American Network Outstanding Contribution to APIDA Research Award.
Cup of Culture
Noho Hewa: The Wrongful Occupation of Hawaii
MCC THEATER
This documentary is a contemporary look at Hawaiian people, politics, and resistance in the face of their systematic erasure under U.S. laws, economy, militarism, and real estate speculation. It is a raw, unscripted story that makes critical links between seemingly unrelated industries, and is told from the perspective of Hawaiians. Keala Kelly, 82 min., English and Hawaiian with English subtitles, 2009, USA.
