The over-arching goal of this initiative is to create a new administrative structure, a Council, to support further growth and convergence between existing academic units-initially Latinx Studies and Asian American Studies - which together offer a strong base for an approach to American Studies that emphasizes intersectionality and intercultural meetings. By introducing a council as an administrative unit that can serve as the full academic home for both tenure-line and teaching-track faculty (i.e., one that is on an equal footing with departments), we expect to create the space in which innovative teaching and research can flourish without the persistent instability and constraints imposed by the current department centric structure.
