Poem for Armenian Genocide Day and Rules for Postcolonials

When there is genocide, intellectuals are targets. This essay askes why, evoking the best traditions of Asian American Studies, a field born in protest and committed to scholarship in pursuit of changed power relationships. As the AAS met in Hawaii, this essay issued a challenge to confront issues of settler vs. indigineous status, to seek groundrules for coalition building, and to teach our students the history of organizing for social change. Engaged scholarship, enraged scholarship, seeking justice always, is a goal ever more important in a time of economic upheaval and backlash against our immigrant communities.