Asia Society Northern California Celebrates Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month

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May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and this season Asia Society Northern California celebrates the increasing importance of "Asia in America" with a themed series of programs representing the importance of Asia and Asian-Americans across the fields of literature, business, and pop culture.

Thursday, April 22
7:30 to 9:00 pm
Women in Asia: Identities and Influence
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Two novelists, a short story writer, and a poet discuss what influences and inspires their writing and how they negotiate their identity as Asian American women writers.
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Wednesday, May 5
6:00 to 7:30 pm
Asian American Women:
Jean Kwok, Girl in Translation
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Jean Kwok, who emigrated from Hong Kong as a young girl, brings to the page the lives of countless immigrants who are caught between the pressure to succeed in America, their duty to their family, and their own personal desires, exposing a world that we rarely hear about. Written in an indelible voice that dramatizes the tensions of an immigrant girl growing up between two cultures, surrounded by a language and world only half understood, Girl in Translation is an unforgettable and classic novel of an American immigrant—a moving tale of hardship and triumph, heartbreak and love, and all that gets lost in translation.
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Friday-Saturday, May 7-8
2010 ASCEND Conference:
Inspiring Across Generations (co-sponsor)
Click here for details

Thursday, May 13
5:30 to 8:00 pm
Asian American Now, The Next Generation:
Asian American Comedians
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Asian American comedians like Margaret Cho and Dat Phan have now become household names. But has mainstream exposure changed the perceptions and interpretations of Asian Americans in stand-up comedy? How do comics play off or subvert audience expectations and media-driven stereotypes? And how do these stereotypes, and comics’ personal identities, shape their material, performances, and careers?
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Southwest Airlines is the official airline sponsor of Asia Society Northern California's Asian American programming.