APARRI Hot Takes is a fresh, conversational video series that brings the humanity of Asian Pacific American religious studies scholars to the forefront. As scholars of religion, from many different disciplines, we do not leave our identities at the door of the classroom or archive. We bring our full selves into our work—our lived experiences, community commitments, and personal journeys all shape the questions we ask and the knowledge we create.
APARRI scholars (Aparristas) are often introduced as experts, cited as pundits, or presented as authors of groundbreaking books and articles. Hot Takes opens a different kind of window: one that highlights the candid reflections, everyday challenges, and sparks of inspiration that animate our scholarship. Through casual, unscripted conversations, you’ll hear Aparristas reflect on networking in the early days of academia, current projects that give them that “spark,” and discuss why the research on and teaching about Asian Pacific American religions is critical to understanding our country.
Janelle Wong
APARRI Senior Advisory Board member, Dr. Janelle Wong discusses her research trajectory, and how APARRI helped shape her work on Asian Americans and Evangelical churches.
Dr. Wong is a Professor in the Departments of American Studies and Government and Politics at the University of Maryland. Wong is author of Immigrants, Evangelicals and Politics in an Era of Demographic Change (2018, Russell Sage Foundation Press), Democracy’s Promise: Immigrants and American Civic Institutions (2006, University of Michigan Press) and co-author of two books on Asian American politics, including Asian American Political Participation: Emerging Constituents and their Political Identities (2011, Russell Sage Foundation), based on the first nationally representative survey of Asian Americans’ political attitudes and behavior.
Jerry Park
In this APARRI Hot Takes video, Dr. Jerry Park shares his experience conducting the first study of Asian American congregations “Between Crisis and Hope: A Final Report from the National Survey of Asian American Congregational Leadership Practices”.
Dr. Park is an Associate Professor of Sociology and an affiliate fellow of the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion. His research interests include the sociological study of religion, race, identity, culture and civic participation. His recent publications have covered topics such as racializing religious measures, religion and inequality attitudes, and Asian American religiosity. He is the President of the Association for the Sociology of Religion.
Jane Iwamura
In this APARRI Hot Takes video, APARRI Senior Advisory Board member Dr. Jane Iwamura explores the distinct importance of teaching Asian American religions.
Dr. Jane Iwamura is Professor of Religious Studies at University of the West. Her research focuses on Asian American religions, race and popular culture in the United States (with an emphasis on visual culture). Dr. Iwamura’s publications include Virtual Orientalism: Religion and Popular Culture in the U.S. (Oxford 2011) and the co-edited volume, Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America (Routledge 2003). Dr. Iwamura co-founded the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative (APARRI), for which she currently is a Luce Grant Co-PI.
Khyati Joshi
In this APARRI Hot Takes video, APARRI Managing Board member Dr. Khyati Joshi discusses the transformative role that networking played throughout her career.
Dr. Khyati Y. Joshi is a Professor of Education at Fairleigh Dickinson University and a public intellectual whose social science research and community connections inform policy-makers, educators, and everyday people about race, religion, and immigration in 21st century America. Her most recent book is White Christian Privilege: The Illusion of Religious Equality in America (NYU Press, 2020). She is also the co-editor of the new book Envisioning Religion, Race, and Asian Americans (University of Hawaii Press, 2020), and was an author and co-editor of Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice 3rd edition (Routledge, 2015), one of the most widely-used books by diversity practitioners and social justice scholars alike.
Roger Nam
In this APARRI Hot Takes video, Dr. Roger Nam shares his transition from pastoral care to PhD studies, and the unique value that each pathway offered him.
Dr. Roger Nam is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at the Candler School of Theology. Dr. Nam focuses his research on the economies of the ancient Near East and the book of Ezra-Nehemiah, applying traditional historical-critical methods within social-scientific frameworks. His publications include Portrayals of Exchange in the Book of Kings (Brill, 2012) and a forthcoming technical commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah for the Old Testament Library (Westminster John Knox). He is coediting The Oxford Handbook for Wealth and Poverty in the Biblical World (Oxford University Press), and co-chairs the steering committee for Economics in the Biblical World for the Society of Biblical Literature’s annual meetings.
Grace Kao
In this APARRI Hot Takes Video, Dr. Grace Kao shares how teaching Asian American Christianity opens up new understandings — for Asian international students, for White students, and even for Asian Americans themselves.
Grace Kao is a Professor of Ethics abd the inaugural Sano Chair in Pacific and Asian American Theolog yat Claremont School of Theology. Her latest book, My Body, Their Baby: A Progressive Christian Vision for Surrogacy (Stanford UP, 2023) won a silver medal Illumination Book Award in theology and was named a 2024 Choice Outstanding Academic Title. Her other books or co-edited anthologies include Grounding Human Rights in a Pluralist World (Georgetown UP, 2011), Asian American Christian Ethics: Voices, Methods Issues (Baylor UP, 2015) and Encountering the Sacred: Feminist Reflections on Women’s Lives (T&T Clark, 2018).