Rick Baldoz is an associate professor of American Studies and Sociology. He is a scholar of immigration, US empire, and Asian American Studies with a particular focus on the convergence of foreign and domestic policy imperatives in demarcating, delimiting, and administering the borders of the national community. More broadly, Rick’s work grapples with the politics of citizenship and national belonging and the fashioning of boundary processes (national, racial, ideological) that determine membership in American society.

Alex Chun (he/him) is an American Studies PhD student interested in the aesthetics, performances, and representations of queer Asian/American sexualities and genders in popular culture and digital media. He holds a BS in Journalism from Northwestern University and has written, designed, and produced for Smithsonian Magazine, Self Evident: Asian America’s Stories, and INTO Magazine, amongst others. Aside from his academic work, Alex is passionate about Omar Apollo and sharing good food with friends.

Kevin Escudero is an assistant professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies and an affiliated faculty member in Native American and Indigenous Studies. His research and teaching focus on Comparative Ethnic Studies and Indigenous Studies; US settler colonialism and militarism; immigration and citizenship; social movements; and law. His current book manuscript, “Imperial Unsettling,” examines Indigenous CHamoru and Filipinx immigrants’ participation in Guåhan’s ongoing decolonization movement.

Lucas Joshi is a doctoral student at Brown University between the Departments of Comparative Literature and Africana Studies. He writes toward the garden, the novel, and the archive of the Indian Ocean World.

Carolyn Lau is a doctoral student in American Studies researching Asian/American studies, racial politics, cities and built environments.

Shelley Lee is a professor of American Studies, and affiliate of History and Urban Studies. She is an historian whose interests include Asian American studies, the American West, immigration, and American cities.