WELCOME TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR ETHNIC STUDIES
The National Association for Ethnic Studies was founded in 1972. It provides an interdisciplinary forum for scholars and activists concerned with the national and international dimensions of ethnicity.
The Association welcomes scholars and teachers at all educational levels, students, libraries, civic and governmental organizations, and all persons interested in ethnicity, ethnic groups, intergroup relations, and the cultural life of ethnic minorities.
As a non-profit corporation, NAES provides a vehicle for interested members and donors to promote responsible scholarship and advocacy in the diverse fields of enquiry which constitute ethnic studies.
Ron Scapp, President
Carleen D. Sanchez, Vice President
Irene Vernon, Treasurer
Emily Drew, Secretary
Maythee Royas, Past President
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION NEW 2012 BOARD MEMBERS
Craig M. Cook is a Professor/Chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at Santa Barbara City College in Santa Barbara, California where he teaches courses in Asian American Studies, Black Studies, Chicano/a Studies, and specialized courses in Ethnic Studies (U.S. Immigration History and Racism in America).
Professor Cook received a B.A. in World History and Ethnic Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and a M.A. in History (emphasis in African American History and Contemporary World History) from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois. Both subjects push students to connect with other cultures, with one another and with us while challenging them to be capable global citizens, guided by knowledge and ethical principles, which will shape the future.
Cook’s studies specialize on a diverse array of ethno-racial groups, with a comparative focus, to provide a framework for understanding both the specificities and the differences among the situations of racially-marginalized groups in the U.S. and beyond. His research interests are: African American History and Culture, Slave Revolts, Comparative Ethnic and Racial Studies, Social Movements, Cultural Studies and U.S. Immigration History.
As a scholar/activist, Professor Cook integrates academic research and community service. He has worked with many diverse community groups and organizations since he began as a student activist during the late 1990s vigorously participating in anti-racism activism and organizing; to working with undocumented immigrants in Chicago, Illinois and later Santa Barbara, California. Living and working in the large immigrant communities of Chicago and Southern California has made him overtly conscious of the importance of Ethnic Studies as a vital part of college/university curricula. As a holistic body of work, Cook’s scholarly work seeks to manifest interdisciplinary African American and Ethnic Studies with integral community engagement.
Rebecca S. Robinson is a PhD candidate in Justice Studies at Arizona State University. She received her B.A. in International Relations from San Francisco State University in 2002 and her M.A. in Justice Studies from Arizona State University in 2007. Both her undergraduate and graduate research has focused on the Middle East and North Africa. She began conducting qualitative research on social media in 2007. Robinson’s Master’s applied project was nearly a year and a half long ethnographic study of the Moroccan blogosphere. Ms. Robinson also received a graduate certificate in Socio-economic Justice from Arizona State University in 2012, demonstrating her enduring interest in political economy, an interest that also stemmed from her undergraduate education. Economic factors continue to inform her analysis of social media interlocutors. She characterizes one her current research programs, which included the paper that she presented at the 2012 NAES Conference, as the socio-economics of hijab. This program investigates economic factors that influence the decisions of Muslim women to cover.
Ms. Robinson’s dissertation research focuses on female, Muslim bridge bloggers in the Middle East and North Africa. This research project examines these bloggers’ identities and motivations for blogging as well as their target audiences. Following feminist standpoint theory, she intends to privilege the voices of Muslim women to gain greater insight into politics, Islam, and women’s issues in the MENA region. She also hopes that her research will demystify the stereotype of the submissive Muslim woman and undermine Orientalist thought that continues to perceive the “East” as diametrically opposed to the “West.”
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