UCLA Asian American Studies Department

Race and the Question of Palestine
2026-02-04 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Charles E. Young Research Library 11360
Join us for an insightful afternoon with Dr. Lana Tatour as she discusses her latest edited volume, Race and the Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press 2025). This talk explores the critical intersections of settler colonialism and the grammar of race, examining how racial structures operate as a technology of power and colonial rule.
About the Book: This book develops from the position that the colonization of Palestine—like other imperial and settler colonial projects—cannot be understood outside the grammar of race. Race and the Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press 2025) explores how race operates as a technology of power and colonial rule, a political and economic structure, a set of legal and discursive practices, and a classificatory system. Offering a wide-ranging set of essays by historians, legal scholars, political scientists, sociologists, literary scholars, and race critical theorists, this collection illuminates how race should be understood in terms of its political work, and not as an identity category interchangeable with ethnicity, culture, or nationalism. Essays build on a long-standing tradition of theorizing race in Palestine studies and speak to four interconnected themes—the politics of racialization and regimes of race, racism and antiracism, race and capital accumulation, and Black–Palestinian solidarity. These engagements challenge the exceptionalism of the Palestinian case, and stress the importance of locating Palestine within global histories and present politics of imperialism, settler colonialism, capitalism, and heteropatriarchy
About the Speaker: Lana Tatour is a Senior Lecturer in Global Development at the University of New South Wales. She is a scholar of settler colonialism, indigeneity, race, and citizenship, with a focus on Palestine. Her coedited book, Race and the Question of Palestine was published in 2025 with Stanford University Press. She is currently completing her monograph, Colonized Citizens: Liberalism, Settler Colonialism, and Palestinian resistance. Lana is also a public commentator. She has appeared on ABC News, the BBC, and TRT World, and her publications have appeared in The Guardian, Al-Jazeera, Mondoweiss, Middle East Eye, The Age, Overland, and more.

The Arrogance of Power Film Screening
2026-02-24 12:30 - 13:45 | Public Affairs Building 4371
To mark the 40th anniversary of the Philippines’ EDSA People’s Power protests, the Luskin AAPI Caucus at UCLA is hosting a film screening of the 1983 documentary, “Arrogance of Power.” This documentary shows the fascist might of the Marcos regime and how militarization and human rights violations were institutionalized in Philippine political life. This event serves as a reminder of the vigilance required to protect human rights from abusive and corrupt powers.
Join us as we discuss the historical importance of the EDSA Revolution and the lessons we pull from it to navigate today’s political climate. We will also share information about the UCLA Asian American Studies digital exhibit Never Forget, a digital exhibition of political posters and oral histories chronicling the transnational Anti-Martial Law Movement.
Filipino catering will be provided by LA Rose Cafe; spots are limited, so food is first come first serve.
Additionally, we will hold balikbayan box donation drive to support typhoon relief(which one/s?) in the Philippines, in collaboration with the Filipino Migrant Center of Long Beach! We encourage folks to please bring medical supplies, non-perishable goods, and/or toiletries to donate for typhoon relief in the Philippines. To learn more about donation needs, visit tinyurl.com/LuskinBalikbayan

Forty Years Since the Philippines' People Power Revolution: Persisting Against Conditions of Martial Law
2026-02-24 16:00 - 17:00 | Online via Zoom
Join us as we reflect on how a people’s uprising toppled a dictator’s two-decade rule—and examine the persistent conditions of martial law that continue to shape our present. Through stories and poetry, we honor the strength of collective resistance and the enduring power of the people.
This online event will feature speakers who will share, through stories and poetry, memories of how a people’s uprising toppled a dictator’s two-decade rule, remind us of the persistent conditions of martial law, and highlight the ongoing strength of people power.
Speakers and poetry readers include Xenia Tupas, Joy Sales, Josen Diaz, Jason Magabo Perez, with others from MALAYA MOVEMENT USA and Anak Bayan UCSC. Moderated by Lucy MSP Burns.
Event registration here

Film Screening: Third Act by Tad Nakamura '03
2026-02-27 19:00 - 20:00 | Darren Star Screening Room, Melnitz 1422
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, in collaboration with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and UCLA Asian American Studies Department, present Third Act, by Tad Nakamura ’03 about his father Robert Nakamura MFA ’75, director, UCLA film professor, and founder of the UCLA Center for EthnoCommunications. Join us for this special screening and conversation. About the film: “Generations of artists call Robert A. Nakamura “The Godfather of Asian American film,” but his son, Tad, calls him Dad. As the filmmaking son of a filmmaking legend, Tad uses the lessons his dad taught him to decipher the legacy of an aging man who was a child survivor of the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans, a successful photographer who gave it up to tell his own story, an activist at the dawn of a social movement—and a father whose struggles have won his son freedoms that eluded Japanese Americans of his generation. As Parkinson’s Disease clouds his memory, Tad sets out to retrieve his story—and in the process discovers his own. The two have made films together, with Robert always by Tad’s side.”
Official Selection of the Sundance Film Festival! Don’t miss this powerful and moving film followed by an exclusive conversation with the director himself!
Come early for the lobby reception, connect with community, and celebrate Asian American storytelling on the big screen!
Reception at 6:00 PM | Screening at 7:00 PM
Seats will fill up FAST — RSVP now!

SEACLEAR x AASD Mixer
2026-03-06 17:30 - 19:30 | Student Activities Center 1&2, 220 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Join SEA CLEAR’s Transfer Component for *FREE dinner and a discussion with UCLA’s Asian American Studies Department! This year, we are exploring the importance of role models, representation within higher education, and how our past experiences shape our orientations to life!
Everyone is welcome and will have the opportunity to share and discuss their experiences!
RSVP: tinyurl.com/scaasd26
*Food is limited! RSVP to help us make sure that we have enough food for everyone. A confirmation or waitlist email will be sent for more information.
