Theorizing Liberation: Third Worldism and the Legacy of Gary Okihiro at CSER

The Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (CSER) presents: Theorizing Liberation: Third Worldism and the Legacy of Gary Okihiro at CSER

A conversation with Moon-Ho Jung (University of Washington, History), Susie J. Pak (St. John’s University, History), Vivek Bald (MIT, Comparative Media Studies), and Elda Tsou (St. John’s University, English); moderated by Manu Karuka (Barnard, American Studies)

Monday, March 24, 2025
5:30-7PM
World Room
Pulitzer Hall, 3rd Floor
Columbia Graduate School of Journalism
2950 Broadway

Light refreshments provided!

The Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (CSER) invites you to "Theorizing Liberation: Third Worldism and the Legacy of Gary Okihiro at CSER," a gathering in honor of the legacy of CSER’s founding director, Gary Okihiro (1945-2024), who passed away in May of last year.

Gary served as CSER’s director from the Center’s formation in 1999 until 2007. He laid the groundwork for CSER to become Columbia’s only hub for comparative and interdisciplinary analysis of ethnicity, race, and Indigeneity, nationally recognized for its academic initiatives and transformative scholarship. CSER now serves over 100 undergraduate majors, minors, and M.A. students a year.

Gary’s 2016 book, Third World Studies: Theorizing Liberation (Duke University Press), contends that contemporary Ethnic Studies has fallen short of its original mandate, which emphasized the interconnectedness of the struggles of all Third World peoples. This event brings together five of Gary’s former students, several of whom studied with him during his years at CSER, and went on to become accomplished scholars in the field.

Our panelists will reflect on the histories of CSER and the field of Ethnic Studies more broadly, Gary’s scholarly contributions, and the prospect of Third World studies. In doing so, they will be engaging in “a work of imagination,” envisioning possible futures for Ethnic Studies at Columbia and beyond.

Please note: due to campus access restrictions, non-CU/BC affiliates will be required to RSVP at least 48 hours in advance in order to receive a QR code to their emails which is required for access.

This event is made possible with the generous support of Barnard American Studies, Columbia Department of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia Department of History, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, and Barnard Asian Diasporic and Asian American Studies.