The UCI Department of Asian American Studies (AAS) and the Southeast Asian Archives (SEAA) are both marking important milestones during the 2016-2017 academic year. AAS is turning 25 years old and the SEAA is turning 30. The archive has a remarkable collection of primary sources on the resettlement of Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese peoples after the wars in Southeast Asia. This premier institution attracts scholars from around the world and also has an extensive outreach program to UCI students and the local Orange County communities.

To commemorate our joint anniversaries, we are sponsoring a year-long celebration entitled “Homescapes/Warscapes 25/30.” The concept of “homescapes” highlights how Asian people have been displaced from their "home" countries, either voluntarily or involuntarily, and how they have sought to recreate a sense of “home” in the U.S. We paired "homescapes" with "warscapes" to foreground how militarism in the Pacific World and across the Asian continent has played a central role in displacement of Asian people from their home countries. Wars destroyed homes, created the need for new ones, and facilitated the formation of hybrid kinship structures and identities. We invite you to reflect on these themes of “homescapes” and “warscapes” by attending a year-long series of special events, many of them featuring UCI Alum!