Week 11

Reflection
Christian


This quarter was great. I had a great time in this class. I already have a background in fashion and already know a great deal on the matter. This was my first Asian-Am class I've taken and it was a nice refresher to look at fashion in a different perspective, from a different lens. Professor Valverde was a breath of fresh air and I always looked forward to attending class. The class was great too and I feel like I really learned a lot on my own, from Professor Valverde, as well as my classmates around me. Weekly readings provided new insight and relevant information for the class as well as our ongoing group projects. Blog posts were simple, though sometimes annoying, but overall another plus. I very much enjoyed my spring quarter in ASA150 and being graced by the presence of Professor Valverde

Love,

Christian

Week 11: Final Reflection

Week 11: Final Reflection
Grace petersen
June 10,, 2019

This quarter has been an unexpected opportunity to learn some of the most impactful concepts of my entire time at Davis. As a graduating senior, I hardly expected to learn so much new information let alone on fashion and sustainability and the relation to asian or asian american identity.  Taking this class has been one of the highlights of the year for me, and Professor Valverde brings a spark to the class that is uniquely entertaining and informed. I appreciate being pushed out of my comfort zone away from my strength in academic writing and towards a more expressive project with the exhibit. I had both a lot of un as well as an incredibly tough challenge in working with my team throughout the class to brainstorm what we could present on the theme of waste and wonder.

Henche en Mexico | Made In Mexico Exhibit

Overall, I think I am going to seriously consider the impact of all material/consumer goods form this point on, and will continue to use my education to research the impact of even innocuous seeming industries on the global scale of inequity. 

week 11 Xinyu Yang

Week 11
ASA141
Xinyu Yang

I will introduce this class to my friends. Professor Valverde let us realize that doing real thinking in this class, especially the final project, gives a lot of discussion space. This makes me to not only know the history of Asian American Fashion but to think about what we need now and what we should do. In the final exhibition, we also learned about each other's ideas and the final works of art. 

And The Be green Challenge made me discover the waste in my consumption behavior.   This makes me think about what I really need. Before class, I never thought about the problem of sweatshops caused by fast fashion. 

Secondly, fashion is more than just clothes, like the Japanese fashion mentioned in my presentation. These fashion trends are not only unique in style but also have a social background. For example, the Japanese bubble economy.

Carson Ho - Week 11 Reflection

Carson Ho
912957212

I signed up for this class because it was the last upper div ASA class that I needed to graduate, but also because I was interested in learning about fashion through an Asian American lens. Some of the expectations that I had coming into the class were that we would learn about different fashion trends in Asian communities, some historical lessons on Asian fashion, and I was hoping to learn more about streetwear fashion in Asian American communities. For the most part, my expectations were met by the class lectures. I wish we had more lessons on streetwear in America, but thanks to the exhibit project, I was able to do research on that myself and learn that way.
I think the thing that has impacted me the most from taking this class were the lessons on fast fashion and fashion sustainability. I used to shop a lot at places like H&M without really thinking about where the clothes come from or who made the clothes. I just knew that the clothes were cheap and wallet-friendly at a time where I didn't really earn any money. As I got older, I started to realize that there are reasons as to why the clothes at fast fashion stores were so cheap: the quality of the clothing is poor and the labor is outsourced to third world countries. Especially after doing the class presentation on fast fashion and sustainability, as well as watching films on such topics, I felt like this class has made me become a much more conscious shopper and made me more aware on the characteristics of the things that I am buying. I start to think more about the quality of clothing from different clothing brands and where they make their products. I also start to understand why some companies have more expensive products for the same item as compared to cheaper fast fashion brands. While I started shopping by getting the cheapest items from the cheaper brands, I start to consider more higher quality brands when I need to buy clothes.
This class was a great end to my undergrad career. Much thanks to Professor Valverde, the TAs, and my fellow classmates for a great quarter!

Week 11_Yueming Tan

Week 11
ASA 141
Yueming Tan

First of all, I am very grateful for joining this wonderful class because I have learned a lot about the fashions of different Asian countries and their differences. I returned a lot to the fashion aesthetics of Hmong and the Philippines. In fact, as a Chinese, I did not pay much attention to fashion in other Asian countries. I often pay attention to the popular culture of Japan and South Korea. So in this class, I learned a lot of pop culture in other countries.
On the other hand, this class does not meet my ideal expectations because I want to learn more about different types of pop culture than just clothing. However, I enjoy sharing my views on fashion with my classmates because I like to listen to others and their stories. I think that universities not only learn but also strengthen their connections with others. This class provides a platform for people to connect through group discussions and final projects.

Week 11: Reflection

Mahima Rupakula
ASA 141
913734418

Class Reflection

This class taught me a lot about the central topic of Asian fashion, specifically a focus on East and Southeast Asian styles. I think that this was extremely informative for me, as I have little to no experience with East Asian fashion but have always admired the pieces. I loved seeing the integration of Asian fashion into the Western world, and seeing how the West has started to accept Asia as a major competitor in high fashion markets. The beautiful textiles and history wrapped within the modernization of Asian fashion has made a patchwork of new and old, which I think only strengthens Asian culture and the diaspora. Another really important part of this class was learning about how detrimental fast fashion and fashion waste is to the environment and to textile workers. It really made me start thinking about the types of clothing I buy and where I buy it from. I think that the be green challenge is extremely important, and that this class should always keep that as a component. Making us think about our waste is becoming more and more important, because our Earth is starting to go past a point of no return. This challenge, along with a few other factors in my life, has almost solidified my career path in renewable energy and trying to make more waste free manufacturing processes in industry! Thank you for teaching such a though provoking class.

Week 11 Reflection

Isabelle Perlada
ASA 141
9 June 2019

I very much enjoyed this class because it allowed me to apply the knowledge that I have gained from taking other ASA courses to a different context. I have always had an interest in fashion and the world of fashion, as I have watched many seasons of Project Runway and become familiar with some of the terminology and practices within fashion design. However, I very much do not know a lot when it comes to design and textiles, so it was interesting being in an ASA class with a lot of people who had never before taken a course from the department. It offered a lot of different perspectives in class and a new experience as compared to all the times I have taken an ASA course with the majority of the students in it having experience with the department.

I liked that I didn't exactly gain the answer I was anticipating to "What is Asian American Fashion", as there is no one answer. As a linear thinker, it is nice to know that some things can be more fluid and abstract rather than rigidly defined. Having a final project be more on the creative side was also a challenge for me as someone with a predominantly STEM academic background. Besides it pushing me to think in a different way, though, it was more enjoyable than writing papers, which is what I am used to in other ASA courses.

The most profound thing that I remember from this course was realizing how women are typically the cultural barriers, and have higher expectations when it comes to maintaining and upholding traditions through cultural dress. I do wish that we had been able to consider the experience of queer and non-binary folks a little more in this course though. Overall, it made for a unique experience with the ASA department that I know I won't be able to find in any other typical ASA course. Here is a relatively new video that I found that reminded me a lot of this class.

Week 11: Reflection

Sidney Siu
ASA 141
Last week

This class being my first upper division ASA course, I'm glad it was one of creativity and more hands-on projects rather than on paper. Because I am an ASA major, I had a broad idea of what to expect, but what I got out of the class was way more than I had imagined. The detail and connections from both Asian and Asian American fashion to the globalization of it all was a huge eye-opener. I especially loved the way the environment was incorporated, as it is such an overlooked part of the fashion industry and impacts the whole world culturally, politically, and economically. The Be Green Challenge was a nice addition in that it allowed all of us to really be conscious of our shopping habits, even aside from just shopping for clothes.
I'll admit, starting at the beginning of the course, I wasn't quite sure how to describe this course even with the course description. I think this course has so much meaningful content that you really just have to take the class with Valverde to fully understand the description.

Week 11 Class Reflection

Annika R. Uyenco
ASA 141
Week 11

I chose to take ASA 141 because of two reasons: 1.) major requirement and 2.) the opportunity to learn more about Asia. I am beyond happy that I chose to take ASA 141. As an Asian American, I wanted to take this class to learn more about my Asian heritage since I never really got the chance to in an educational setting. Taking ASA 141 introduced me to cultures and traditions I did not know much about. I developed a keen sense of awe to just how diverse Asia truly is and its nonstop continuity of cultural fusions and development.

I became more aware of my shopping habits due to the Be Green Challenge and also learning more about fast fashion. This class happened to be taught during the quarter where I held a textile sustainability panel with a few of my classmates in San Francisco in the beginning of April. Sustainability was a big theme this quarter, not just for this class but also for my major and the career path I am pursuing.

This quarter I also participated in a cultural dance with my fellow Filipino friends. We performed the "Alitaptap," a dance that originated from the Batangas region in the Philippines that mimics the movement of a firefly. With the time and resource constraints, we made similar outfits that resembled the dress for the dance. This class helped me develop a deeper appreciation for our costumes. The history of the "terno" and the "barong" and learning about the other cultural minorities in the Philippines were fascinating.

I also liked the fact that even though this class focused on fashion and textiles, the material taught was extended beyond that such as the creation of weaves and the intertwining of cultures like the Chicano subculture in Japan. Even though it was not part of the class, I appreciated learning about the Spratly Islands dispute and becoming more aware of the political issues happening in Asia. The work in this class really challenged me to think analytically and drove me to work really hard to truly understand the class material.

UCD students dancing the Alitaptap (5/25/19)

Week 11- Uyen Ngo

I took this class because I had taken a class with Professor Valverde the previous quarter and it was by far one of my favorite classes. Just like Professor Valverde's previous class, this class was structured to let us do real work rather than read papers and write essays after essays. It left room for a lot of discussion and every class was interesting. Not only was I able to learn the history and background of Asian fashion including that of the Ao Dai, which holds a significant importance to me, but I was also able to learn of the ethics behind fashion. While it is not in the title, learning to go green was probably one of my favorite parts of this class.

Prior to this class, I never thought about fast fashion and the ethical issues behind it. As I grow older, I want to make a conscious effort to help limit my contributions to markets that conduct poor efforts. By learning the history and facts behind it and hearing stories of those directly affected by the ethics of fast fashion, I found that it has become almost effortless for me to avoid participating in fast fashion. 

In terms of the final project, as a pre-medical student I never really get a chance to show my artistic side. With the project I was able to embrace that as well as understand the significant behind the costume design of a movie I grew up loving. It really did enhance my curiosity of fashion and art and is the reason that I wanted to join Professor Valverde's team for the Ao Dai exhibit. 

Reflection

Week 11
Zoe Martin

Reflection

          I really enjoyed this course and I feel like I learned a lot. It covered a lot of topics about Asian American fashion—culturally, socially, politically, and economically which is really cool. I also appreciated how much I was able to learn about Philippine fashion and textiles and was able to pursue my own research and ideas for my final project. I think that the topics covered are relevant to the fashion industry today and are ideas that should be discussed. For instance, I think the section about cultural appropriation is very necessary and is something to really consider when designing clothing and drawing inspiration from a culture other than your own. Moreover, I really appreciated how many different cultures and regions of Asia we were able to cover. I am now able to appreciate and have knowledge about traditional clothing I was unaware of such as the ao dai and hanbok.

Additionally, I learned a lot about myself and my contribution to the waste that the fashion industry creates. The Be Green Challenge was daunting at first, but I am glad that I was able to create an impact in my consumer habits. I thought I was a thoughtful shopper—I have always been attentive about fiber contents of my clothes and always tried to choose natural and more sustainable fabrics. However, now I am aware of sustainability on a larger scale. I always question where the fabrics came from, where the product was made, and under what conditions? I am very grateful that this course allowed me to learn these concepts on my own, and my perspective of the fashion industry and its relationship with Asian Americans has definitely changed.

Week 11: Reflections

Week 11: Reflection
ASA 141
June 8, 2019
Franchesca Flores

Overall, I really enjoyed this class and the way the final project was done. Instead of having to describe a concept and image through a paper we were able to physically show it through our art pieces collectively in the exhibition. We went through various discussions on topics of conservation, ethological, and political stances of fashion in Eastern countries. Although I feel that the Asian topics were looked at a little more than the Indian cultures, I did appreciate the consideration of all ethnicities and cultures from the East.

My favorite part of the class was the discussion of fashion influencers because I have an appreciation and love for Japanese culture. It was interesting to learn the different types of subcultures and how they started and what they represent and look like. Another part of the class I liked was the homework and readings. The readings were very informative and aligned with the topics of the week. I also appreciated the Be Green assignment because it challenged us to think about what we buy, where it comes from, and to be aware of how much we consume. In the end, I feel that I learned a great deal of knowledge and on Eastern fashion and the effects and impacts it has on the world. I would definitely recommend this course to other people at UC Davis and will be aware of what and how much I consume. 

Week 11- REFLECTIONS

Sapana Gautam
Week 11

To be honest, I had not heard of this class before.  I was asking around for easy (and preferably fun) classes to take to satisfy my GE requirements.  My friend was signed up for the class and convinced me to take it with her, and I am so glad I did.  This class was not what I was expecting at all-- it was even better.  I took the class because I am Asian American as well so I wanted to know how our fashion was characterized from the inside and outside perspectives.  Initially, I was worried that this class would not be as inclusive of South Asians.  In general, when people think of "Asians", they think of East Asians, so I thought the same would happen in this class.  However, I was glad this class mentioned as many Asian cultures as possible (and to the best of the professor's knowledge).  I got to learn about how diverse Asia is, as well as how many similarities we share.  I never thought that the Indian salwar kameez and the Vietnamese ao dai would be similar. Same with traditional Nepalese and Hmong clothes.  The main thing that caught me by surprise, however, was learning about sustainability.  I did not think that we would learn so much about it, but I am grateful as it made me re-evaluate my shopping choices as well as habits.  Overall, this class really opened me up to how diverse everyone's styles are, and that there are no rules when it comes to fashion.  If you like it, wear it.  Your clothes really are a reflection of who you are.

Week 11

I enjoyed my time in this class and, despite my initial concerns of not fitting in, felt very comfortable in it. I was scared that as a non Asian-American I didn't really have the ability to talk about various topics in this class. I was even scared to do some blog posts in fear of offending anyone. In the end everyone was very welcoming and I enjoyed the material greatly. The readings were very eye-opening, especially the one on the hmong people. My favorite topic may have been the documentaries on the garment workers, such as The True Cost. This part of the class genuinely changed my life and my entire perspective on clothing. I refuse to buy anything from fast fashion chains anymore and, with the information I gained from the Be Green challenge, may never buy first hand clothes again. In the end, this class introduced me to many topics I never would have known or thought about and made me a more conscious consumer.

 

J.J. Noel
ASA 141

week 11 Reflection

Week 11 - Reflection

Week 11
Fara Suiza
June 8, 2019
ASA141

I initially took this class because I needed the upper division units for graduation and, although I’m not an Asian American minor, I enjoy taking ASA classes. I was stuck between this class and another one (Filipino experience, I think). In the beginning, I was a bit scared and apprehensive about the class because I thought we would do a lot of analyzation of Asian fashion designs (kind of like Art History). The idea of sitting around and discussing patterns didn’t really seem fun and I didn’t really know much about patterns anyways. I was surprised to find that this class didn’t revolve so much about talking about designs and their cultural meanings to respective Asian cultures, but rather how fashion affects the environment, Asian countries, and Asian culture. For example, I was vaguely familiar with fast fashion and why places like Forever 21 were bad for the environment, but this class really showed other aspects to fast fashion, raising my overall awareness.

One of my favorite things in this class was how it challenged my view of things like cultural appropriation. I still firmly believe it all comes down to the whole concept of power imbalances, but I never really thought much about tattoo culture until it was touched upon in class or heavily questioned the question of “Is it cultural appropriation or appreciation?”.

Class discussions during the quarter were always engaging, sometimes changing my views, other times challenging it.

When we started the Green Challenge, I honestly thought it wouldn’t be a problem, but I soon realized that it’s actually difficult to break my own very materialistic habits. However, it definitely made me more aware of my purchases and helped reign my habits in to a degree.

Overall, despite the class being slightly more disorganized than my usual taste, I really appreciated how this class made me care about fashion through a different lens. The question “What is Asian American fashion” does not have a black and white answer. The answer ranges on a spectrum, but to me, it is about Asian American identity and how we choose to connect to our respective cultures through clothes, history, and the stories told through what we wear on our bodies.

Thank you for teaching this class!

Week 11

Mary Qin
ASA 141
Week 11

Reflections on ASA 141

This class was very different from any class that I have ever experienced and definitely nothing like what I was expecting from a ASA class. The fashion aspect and the project were challenges to me and often made me quite stressed, but it was a interesting experience and break from the curriculum that I am used to. For the first time in my four years at UC Davis, I actually also really enjoyed working with my groups. I feel like the most important thing that I learned from this class is sustainability. I had never thought about where the cheap clothing comes from or thought about how unsustainable it is. It seems so obvious now reflecting back. This class really helped me think about the things that I buy and realize how wasteful I am with my clothing. It also helped me appreciate higher quality clothing. Before, I never cared about the quality of clothes and easily followed the fast fashion trends, which often led me to buy new clothes all the time while only wearing some of the outfits once or twice before they were unwearable or I was bored of them. The films that we watched also made me realize that in a sense colonialism still exists today as the United States pretty much exploits these asian countries for their resources and cheap labor. I had always assumed that the cheap clothing that we get at Forever 21 and H&M were just mass produced by machines. I never imagined a human work force behind it and now that I know, I am bewildered by how clothing can be sold for so cheap and how these people's labor can be worth so little. The sustainability aspect is definitely something that makes this class special and something that I will be able to apply to my life.

Week 11: Reflection

Week 11
Course Reflection
Magnolia Garcia


        I remember going through my options for classes this quarter and coming across “Political Culture of Fashion” under the Asian American Studies major. I had never taken an ASA class before, but I was especially intrigued by the fashion aspect, because (as a Design major) I had actually never taken a course focused on fashion either. I was definitely intimidated on the first day, after finding that about 95% of the class was either an ASA major or had it as their minor. However, I convinced myself to stay because Professor Valverde was unlike any other I had come across before (the outfits were a bonus). It was truly refreshing being in a class that didn’t exactly feel like one--and I mean that in the best way possible.
        The weekly blogs were an interesting activity; I appreciated the reading blogs, because I was forced to not only complete the reading, but writing about each helped me better retain the information and also helped me form an opinion on the corresponding week’s topics. Meanwhile, I appreciated the Be Green Blogs because they were a bit more personal. I can’t remember the last time I wrote “for myself” as consistently as I did during the second half of this class. Of course, the Be Green Challenge itself was a great experience and something I believe everyone should give a shot at; I’m all for reducing carbon footprint!!!
        This quarter, I was also taking a World Textiles class with an emphasis on the Eastern Hemisphere, so I learned about the textiles that originated in countries such as the Philippines, China, Japan, India, etc. As a college student, I’d like to believe that one of the best feelings comes when the classes you’re taking during the same quarter happen to overlap in some areas, and that ended up being the case for me. I’m glad things worked out, and ten weeks later, I feel fortunate for having been a part of this class. Over the course of my college career, I’ve learned how important it is to step outside of my comfort zone and explore subject matter I’ve never dealt with before. I would like to end this final blog with a huge ‘Thank you’ to Professor Valverde for making this experience an unforgettable one. :-)

Wk 11 Reflect

Ziyu Wang

The course has now concluded, and I can finally think about and reflect upon what I have learned from this class. Professor Valverde is definitely an interesting character. Having plenty of unique experiences and an eccentric way of teaching, Professor taught us so much and more about fashion that we never even heard of. While classes are disorganized, it does not mean the lectures are messy and random, instead I think they are very proactive and engaging. Each week a new topic comes up that you did not even know has any relation with other topics, yet they are all closely intertwined together. There are a lot of great insights from the reading that really sharpens our minds, and as the weeks build up, it ends in a grand finale in the form of an exhibit that raises awareness of our actions when it comes to Asian American fashion and consumerism. Every students worked hard on the projects and made sure their designs and ideas are realized. I am sure everyone else has been just as inspired as I am through this course, and I thank professor for that.

Week 11- Diane Tran

Diane Tran
ASA 141
Week 11

Throughout this quarter I have learned a lot about fashion, a topic I never really had to learn because of my major and also a topic I never really thought about. However, fashion is something that I love whether it is seeing how different cultures impact fashion or even how people match up pieces that fit well towards a certain theme or even what people wear for casual wear, street fashion, and even to dress up. This quarter was very eye-opening to me seeing that I did not know much about how fast fashion made exploit overseas workers and is environmentally disastrous. Now, that I have taken this class and learned so much about this aspect I'll definitely think twice before going into Forever 21, H&M, and even Nike. This is something I can also spread awareness to the people around me because just like how I once was, I was blinded and just bought clothes and shoes on an impulse without knowing the harm it was doing to other people and our environment. In addition, I learned a lot about Asian Americans and fashion in general and to think about questions that made me critically think why it is so hard for Asian American designers or people in general to have an impact like how European beauty standards have been set in the past. I definitely believe that Asian Americans and other races are just as beautiful as Europeans and should be represented more in the fashion, modeling, and even cinema industries. 

Reflection-Narayan

Pryanka Narayan   

ASA 141 

Week 11                                                     Final Blog  

This course has been one of the most fascinating and intriguing courses I have ever taken. As prior to starting this course, I found the title “Asian American Fashion” to be boring but thought it would help satisfy my ASA minor requirement. I can honestly say by the end of the course, I found it to be like no other Asian American class. For example, I found all of the readings we had to be really interesting and found myself asking questions I never had really thought about considering ASA fashion.  There were also concepts that I was not aware of, such as the Kimono.  I have briefly heard of the term, but never quite knew what it really was. I also liked the hands-on approach of being able to do study reading and present on a topic with the group. For instance, my group presented on Santa’s Workshop, and while I briefly knew that the USA outsourced its work and goods to third world countries, I had no idea the extent. After learning the true nature of third world exploitation and participating in the Green challenge, I can truly say I have changed the way I view fashion and my spending habits. I am now more environmentally conscious and socially aware of what and where I choose to spend. I also enjoyed the field trip and being able to witness a real-life exhibit and found it motivating for the final.  Lastly, I thoroughly enjoyed the final project. While at the time, I found it stressful to conduct, I found that in the end I got closer to my group members and created something that represents the knowledge I have gained throughout the quarter.