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Acknowledgments This book began at its end, when my brother Edward saw on my desk a seminar paper I had written for Angela Harris at Boalt Hall, and now a version of it appears here as the conclusion for this book. Edward told me to submit the original paper for publication. I did as he suggested (as I’m always inclined to do), and it was subsequently published in the Michigan Journal of Race and Law. Professors Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic saw the piece there, and they gave me the encouragement to turn the ideas from that article into this book. They became my editors, and they helped me secure a book contract with New York University Press. At the same time, my graduate advisors at Berkeley—Samuel Scheffler, Robert Kagan, Angela Harris, and Michael Omi—helped shape the article into a dissertation in political theory, public law, and race theory. And so in this way, that seminar paper for Professor Harris turned into an extended , extended project that I took with me from Berkeley, to Austin, and then to Santa Barbara, where my wife, Gowan Lee, told me in no uncertain terms to send off the manuscript or else. I owe my sincerest appreciation to everyone mentioned in this paragraph, although Edward and Gowan deserve my deepest thanks. Without Edward, this project would not have gone anywhere, and without Gowan, it probably would never have ended. I have received tremendous support during the many years I have lived with this project. At Berkeley, in addition to my dissertation advisors, I owe many thanks to several terrific professors, including Marianne Constable , Jeremy Waldron, and Ling-chi Wang. I took four courses at Cal with Professor Constable; she is by far the best professor I have ever had. She was the first to teach me how to look at law in an unconventional, multi-disciplinary way. Professor Waldron’s writings and seminars on liberal theory were inspirational, and his encouragement had a lasting effect xi on many of his students long after he had left Berkeley. Professor Wang pushed me to become a better teacher by helping me design my first courses, and then by offering me my first job as a lecturer in the Department of Ethnic Studies. He also introduced me to several intriguing areas of research in Asian American Studies, many of which I am still pursuing. In Austin, I owe my deepest thanks to several colleagues. Arthur Sakamoto was instrumental in helping me get my first tenure-track academic appointment, and he supported me through every step of my first two years as an Assistant Professor. Mia Carter, who was Art’s successor as the Director of the Center for Asian American Studies, was also incredibly supportive professionally and personally. She showed by her example how a skilled administrator could steer an infant, contentious program through impossible challenges. Her leadership will always amaze me. In the Department of American Studies, I was fortunate to have the support of several colleagues and friends, especially Jeff Meikle, Shelley Fisher Fishkin, Mark Smith, Janet Davis, and Steven Hoelscher. Over the two years I was at the University of Texas, they were simply wonderful to me and my family, and understanding of the difficult challenges we were facing. Like Art and Mia, they taught me by their example that a good colleague is first of all a caring friend. And it was terrific to be in a department that was so encouraging of eclectic, interdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary work. I owe thanks to other colleagues at Berkeley and at Austin. My two Deans at UT, Richard Lariviere and Brian Roberts, each offered crucial support during different stages of this project. They gave me what every young academic needs: a good job and a summer off. Others were just as kind in different ways. Brigid Tung and Margo Rodriguez helped me in innumerable ways throughout my time at Berkeley; Janice Bradley, Barbara Jann, and Cynthia Frese helped me do everything at UT, and they also created a happy work environment in both of my home departments . My newest colleagues at the University of California at Santa Barbara have been very supportive as well. Jon Cruz, Susan Koshy, Xiaojian Zhao, Diane Fujino, Celine Parreñas Shimizu, Hung Cam Thai, and Douglas Daniels have been most kind, and each have shown me and my family a great deal of warmth, as did Sucheng Chan when I first arrived in Santa...

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