The Northeast Anthropological Association’s annual conference brings together presenters from institutions of higher learning across the northeastern United States. This year’s event was hosted by Rhode Island College in Providence, R.I., with the theme of “Exploring the Challenges of Diversity.” The event highlighted anthropology’s commitment to understanding the multiple histories, cultures and expressions of the human experience.  Five representatives from Ithaca College’s Department of Anthropology attended this year’s two-day conference. Four students presented research at the conference: Nghi Phan on “Shamanism in East Asia”; Amanda Magee on “Asian American Representations in Early Childhood Education”; Emily Zepp on “Operation: Body Imagery, Body Modification and the Feminine Ideal”; and Sean Connolly on “Living Across Borders: An Exploration of Border Policy Versus Reality in Ghana and Togo.” Professor Sue-Je Gage presented the following research.

Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” When I read this for the first time a few years ago, it reminded me of what one U.S. Embassy official in Korea told me during an interview as I asked him about Amerasian immigration and immigration law.

“Why are you wasting your time with this group? They’re small. If I were you, I’d consider your career and look for something else to study,” he said. This, of course, angered me and provided even more incentive to follow through with working with Amerasians. Amerasians are people of “mixed” Asian and American descent living in Asia. Many, but not all, Amerasians are directly related to U.S. soldiers stationed in Asia, as far back as the late 1800s. The U.S. government has historically ignored Amerasians and most Asian nations have actively discriminated against them. My research is on identity and race, more specifically on belonging and citizenship in Asia and the United States.

I’ve been working with Korean Amerasians or “mixed” Korean and U.S. Americans in South Korea since 1995, when I first went to South Korea as a Fulbright scholar after graduating from college. I have witnessed a dramatic change in the ways that this group of Koreans articulate their identities. Much of this can be explained by the intersections of political change and the transnational flows of ideas, people and goods that we call globalization. Unlike other perspectives that tend to focus on Amerasians as “victims” and children, my research argues for seeing honhyol or “mixed blood” Asians as individuals who challenge the ideas of purity, citizenship and national claims to culture in their day-to-day lives, especially now as South Korea tries to grapple with a diversifying society. The research addresses the complexities among this population and how they strategically use their identities in several ways to negotiate and renegotiate Koreanness.

Anthropology for me is, excitingly, one of the few disciplines that actively engages with our world, locally and globally, providing an extra push to consider our own roles and actions, as well as the implications within. As a first-generation college graduate and Ph.D. in my family, I am finding that there are similarities to my former experiences. Being a first-year professor is like learning from the “seat of my pants” all over again, and anthropological in its own sense. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year here at Ithaca College and am very thankful for the support of the Department of Anthropology and the dean of Humanities and Sciences. I find the students engaging and open, offering me as much as I offer them, if not more.

Sue-je Gage is an assistant professor in the anthropology department. E-mail her at sgage@ithaca.edu.