Reclaiming our Now: MSA Excursions Series
This new pilot program from MSA engages students in building connections with communities in Chicago through neighborhood excursions. In partnership with local nonprofits and the Asian American Studies Program, students will analyze how community spaces can support a sense of shared cultural identity, learn the ways activism and organizing is used to honor a neighborhood's history and identity, and practice allyship in supporting local neighborhoods and communities.
In spring of 2019, MSA's Excursions series visited Paseo Boricua, a neighborhood in Humboldt Park with a strong Puerto Rican community identity, and the Argyle district, a neighborhood in Uptown with large Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai immigrant populations.
The program took place over four dates:
Saturday, May 4, 10 AM - 4 PM: Excursion - Paseo Boricua
Thursday, May 9, 5 - 7:30 PM: Teach-in - Argyle history & gentrification
Saturday, May 11, 10 AM - 4 PM: Excursion - Argyle
Thursday, May 16, 12 - 1 PM: Final debrief
Stay tuned for more details on this upcoming year's locations and dates.