Indian Accents: Brown Voice and Racial Performance in American Television and Film

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments I owe many thanks to the people who have helped support and develop this project. When I was a graduate student at the University of Michigan, Stephen Sumida and Simon Gikandi encouraged my early approaches to the intersection of Asian American literature and postcolonial narratives. Gail Nomura, Andrea Press, and Patricia Yaeger introduced me to new theories in history, communications and media, and women’s studies . They set me on the path that would eventually expand my study from literature to ethnic studies and comparative American studies and popular culture. My special thanks goes to the UM group of scholars with whom I explored the borders of Asian American studies, including Linda Bachman, Nancy Cho, Larry Hashima, Stewart Ikeda, Daryl Maeda, LeiLani Nishime, Grace Pang, Cristine Paschild, and Morris Young. I have been privileged to have a wide circle of colleagues who have enriched my life personally and intellectually over the years—I thank all of you. I acknowledge my colleagues who have especially motivated and encouraged me: Mary Beltrán, Rick Bonus, Jennifer Chan, Kenyon Chan, Floyd Cheung, Lavina Dhingra, Pawan Dhingra, Hien Duc Do, Augusto Espiritu, Jennifer Ho, Evelyn Hu-Du Hart, Pensri Ho, Emily Ignacio, Bill Imada, Jane Iwamura, Victor Jew, Moon-Ho Jung, L. S. Kim, Madulikha Khadelwal, Rebecca King, Robert Lee, Shirley Lim, Sunaina Maira, Martin Manalansan, Sucheta Mazumdar , Karen Naransaki, Franklin Odo, Gary Okihiro, Kent Ono, Edward Park, Jane Park, Vijay Prasad, Gita Rajan, Maria Sanchez, Jack Tchen, K. Scott Wong, Sau-ling Wong, Jeff Yang, and David Yoo. Dave_Indian text.indd 9 1/8/13 10:36 AM Tasha Oren and LeiLani Nishime have been generous academic partners, the best coeditors I could wish for, and friends who have been there from the beginning of our academic careers. Rajini Srikanth is a warm generous mentor and adviser who has introduced me into a thriving intellectual and academic home for me in the Boston area. Mary Danico is a good friend who has inspired me with her active engagement for the future of Asian American Studies. Linda Vo is a veritable rock of professional support and a valued friend. The staff of the Multicultural Resource Center at Oberlin College, especially Adrian Bautista, Joe DiChristina, Kenneth Holmes, Narges Kakalia, and Michelle Shim, as well as David Kamitsuka and the faculty, staff, and students inspired me and taught me about Asian American Studies and Comparative American Studies on the student-life side and in academia. My thanks to Amy Ling, Nellie McKay, Hemant Shah, and Susan Friedman for their support while I was a visiting professor in Asian American Studies and in the English department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. I am especially indebted to my UW-Madison writing group, who saw the kernels of this project and propelled me to do a full study: Victor Bascara, Leslie Bow, Grace Hong, Lisa Nakamura, and Michael Peterson. A heartfelt appreciation goes to Anita Affeldt, Maria Christina Garcia, Viranjini Munasinghe, and Shelley Wong at Cornell University and to Patricia Hill, Allan Isaacs, Indira Karamcheti, J. Kehaulani Kauanui, Anita Mannur, Sean McCann, and William Stowe of Wesleyan University, where I was a visiting assistant professor. I have benefitted from knowing all my colleagues in the American Studies program at Brandeis University, especially Joyce Antler, Jerry Cohen, Tom Doherty, Maura Farrelly Angie Simeone, Cheryl Sweeney, and Melanie Zoltan. In addition , I have learned much from Anita Hill, Thomas King, Sarah Lamb, Susan Lanser, James Mandrell, Eileen McNamara, Laura Miller, Faith Smith, Harleen Singh, and Elaine Wong. Finally, I thank the students in all my courses, who inspire me and teach me new ideas on a daily basis. The writing and research of this manuscript were done with the aid of a one-semester research sabbatical from Brandeis University and financial grants from the Dean of Arts and Sciences office, the Norman Grant for Research, and the Tomberg Fund for junior faculty. I also thank the staff at the Reading Room of the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles for their generous comments and suggestions. I have a sincere appreciation for my colleagues in the Boston area who provided a stimulating and intellectually vibrant community and inspired my x . acknowledgments Dave_Indian text.indd 10 1/8/13 10:36 AM best work. Thanks to Vivek Bald, Stella Chin, Monica Chiu, Peggy Leavitt, Min Song, Rajini Srikanth, Linnell Yugawa...