An Emerging Area of Scholarship
Srikanth believes the future is bright because of a shift in the way Asian American studies sees South Indians. Until recently, "South Asians were not seen as authentic Asian Americans professors," Srikanth says.
On college campuses around the country, professors say there is a burgeoning of courses about South Asians. Until the early 1990s, there were very few courses being taught. The new courses are partly a result of the scholarship being done by a younger generation of scholars "who are coming out and saying we want to write about this," says Khandelwal, who teaches a class called "Becoming South Asian."
"The term South Asian is being coined," Khandelwal says. "South Asians are not monolithic and traditionally think of themselves as Indian, Bangladesh or Pakistani." But now, scholars say South Asians are trying to forge a new identity as an ethnic group in the United States.
"These new courses are breaking ethnic boundaries and cutting back and forth across issues of race and culture," Prashad says.
— Elizabeth Softky and Cheryl D. Fields
contributed to this story.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
