AES Herstory

The Association for Ethnic Studies (AES) has a long herstory dating back to the early 1970s. Starting with a small group of scholars in the Midwest who, in 1972, saw a need for an organization which would bring together those interested in an interdisciplinary approach to the national and international dimension of ethnicity.  From the work of this small group came the National Association of Interdisciplinary Studies for Native American, Black, Chicano, Puerto Rican, and Asian Americans. The objectives of this early Association was to serve as a forum for promoting research, study, curriculum design, and publication of interested to members of the organization.  The National Association of Interdisciplinary Studies for Native American, Black, Chicano, Puerto Rican, and Asian Americans sponsored its first conference on Ethnic and Minority Studies, in 1973 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  At the conference, university and college professors, public school teachers and students gathered to examine both content and approaches to multicultural studies.  NAES continues to offer Annual Conferences.

As the National Association of Interdisciplinary Studies for Native American, Black, Chicano, Puerto Rican, and Asian Americans organization began to develop so was the disciplinary field(s) of Ethnic Studies.  Ethnic Studies grew out of the civil rights movement and the concerns of minority students on college campuses throughout the United States.  Campus strikes began in the 1960s driven by the demands of students of color and others in the Third World Liberation Front demanding an increase of students of color, faculty of color, a more comprehensive curriculum that spoke to the concerns and needs of marginalized communities of color. From this battle was the establishment of the School of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University and the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, among other early programs.

During this time of struggle for power, place, and voice of minorities, the National Association of Interdisciplinary Studies for Native American, Black, Chicano, Puerto Rican, and Asian Americans, supported the student actions and worked to foster interdisciplinary discussion for scholars, activities, and community members concerned with the national and international aspects of ethnicity.  In 1985, the National Association of Interdisciplinary Studies for Native American, Black, Chicano, Puerto Rican, and Asian Americans officially changed its name to the National Association for Ethnic Studies (NAES) whose purpose was “the promotion of activities and scholarship in ethnic studies.”

In the fall of 2017, the Board of Directors voted to change our organization’s name to the Association for Ethnic Studies (AES). After thirty-two years under the moniker of the National Association for Ethnic Studies, the board responded to longstanding interests in shifting away from models that re-inscribed the US or uncritically privileged the nation-state as a central organizing body. The association has long been a global entity with members from around the world and with academic interests stretching far beyond those of any particular nation’s political boundaries.

Today, AES members continue to examine the interlocking forces of domination that are rooted in socially constructed categories of gender, sexuality, class, and race and are committed to challenging paradigms that systematically marginalize the experiences of diverse national and international populations.  And, as scholars and researchers, AES members are also committed to nurturing civic-minded and culturally informed students who strive to strengthen their communities.