Prof. Hwaji Shin

In this episode, we welcome Hwaji Shin, Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of San Francisco. Professor Shin’s research focuses on political sociology, with particular emphases on race and ethnicity, social movements, and migration. This episode was recorded in the aftermath of the disturbing act of violence in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 16th, 2021 as we continue to witness ongoing abuse towards Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, and other communities of color. Prof. Shin is joined in conversation with JSAP contributors Sophie Hasuo, Rachel Willis, and Prof. Reginald Jackson. Our topics include: the March 2021 Atlanta spa shooting; Prof. Shin’s family background; anti-Korean discrimination; supportive and unsupportive teachers; traveling to South Korea as a Korean Japanese person; creating belonging; Bon Jovi; fetishization of Asian women; professional training; graduate school; surviving vs. thriving; Charles Tilly's scholarship; anti-racist practice; racialization and racial formation; labeling, especially for Asian and Asian Americans; and Prof. Shin's book project.

To hear more from Prof. Shin's work please watch her JSAP webinar on “Decolonizing Race and Ethnicity: Understanding Racial Formation in Japanese Society” and her presentation at the Center for Japanese Studies, "Contentious Citizenship: Zainichi Korean Activism in Japan."

This podcast is created with generous support from the University of Michigan’s Center for Japanese Studies.  Recording, editing, and transcription support came from Reginald Jackson, Justin Schell, Sophie Hasuo, Rachel Willis, Harrison Watson, Robin Griffin, and Allison Alexy. Please see the Japanese Studies and Antiracist Pedagogy homepage for more information.