Critical Pacific Islands & Oceania Studies (CPIOS) merges Pacific Studies and Ethnic Studies, is rooted in student activism in San Francisco, California, and honors Indigenous peoples, knowledge systems, and experiences of Oceania throughout the diaspora by critically analyzing issues of imperialism, colonialism, racism (environmental racism), sexism, homophobia, and militarism in historical and contemporary contexts (Kava & Loi-Ono, 2022). We do this in order to dismantle oppressive systems and imaginaries by working in solidarity with Indigenous and communities of color and to reimagine futurities and alternative systems rooted in Indigenous resurgence (Elliott, 2018).
Asian American Studies is rooted in Ethnic Studies and is closely linked to the civil rights movements and student activism of the 1960s & 1970s. As a community-oriented, interdisciplinary academic discipline that began in places like San Francisco State University, UC Berkeley, and UCLA, the field centers on Asian American experiences, histories, and knowledge by examining issues of identity, power, racism, sexism, immigration, homophobia, transphobia, disability, class, and other social formations of difference primarily in the context of the US, and around the world.