Honoring Michael Omi

Symposium in Honor of Michael Omi on the Occasion of His Retirement

Friday, October 1, Noon-7pm

Michael Omi retired in June 2021 after 35 years as a beloved and inspirational faculty member at UC Berkeley. This symposium will feature his colleagues and former students discussing his work and its implications in the academy and community. Professor Omi is best known as the co-author of Racial Formation in the United States, a groundbreaking work that transformed how we understand the social and historical forces that give race its changing meaning over time and place. The 3rd edition of the book was released in 2015. At Berkeley, he is known as an outstanding instructor and thoughtful leader who has served the campus in numerous positions, including as Director of the Institute for the Study of Social Change (now the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues), as Associate Director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society (now the Othering and Belonging Institute), and as founding chair of the Asian American Research Center. Professor Omi's primary appointment was in the Department of Ethnic Studies with affiliations in Sociology and Gender & Women's Studies. Students in these departments and many more had the pleasure of taking his classes; Michael Omi is a recipient of UC Berkeley’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Fortunately, Professor Omi will continue to be active on campus and beyond; this symposium acknowledges the milestone of his retirement and provides an opportunity to appreciate his many contributions.

Panel 1: Virtual - 12:10p-1pm Pacific Time. Honoring Michael Omi: Racial Formations - Video now available at this link.

This event is part of Homecoming 2021!  

Welcome: Carol Christ, Chancellor, UC Berkeley

Moderator: Stephen Small, Director, Institute for the Study of Societal Issues; Professor, African American Studies, UC Berkeley

Speakers:

• Victor Rios, Professor, Sociology, UC Santa Barbara
• Lisa Lowe, Samuel Knight Professor of American Studies and Professor of Ethnicity, Race, and Migration, Yale University
• Troy Duster, Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus, UC Berkeley
• Michael Omi, Professor Emeritus, Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, UC Berkeley

Panel 2: In-person: 1:30-3pm. Racial Formation: Theoretical Interventions - Video now available at this link.

Heyns Room, Faculty Club

Welcome: Juana María Rodríguez, Professor and Chair, Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley

Moderator: Lok Siu, Associate Professor, Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, UC Berkeley

Speakers:

• Tomás Almaguer, Professor Emeritus, Latina/Latino Studies, San Francisco State University
• Nadia Y. Kim, Professor, Sociology and Asian & Asian American Studies, Loyola Marymount University
• Gary Okihiro, Visiting Professor, American Studies, Yale University
• john a. powell, Director, Othering & Belonging Institute, and Robert D. Haas Chancellor’s Chair in Equity and Inclusion, UC Berkeley

Panel 3: In-person: 3:15-4:45pm. Raciality, Relationality, and Community-Engaged Scholarship - Video now available at this link

Heyns Room, Faculty Club

Welcome: Keith Feldman, Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley

Moderator: Khatharya Um, Associate Professor, Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, UC Berkeley

Speakers: 

• Edward Park, Professor and Chair of Asian and Asian American Studies, Loyola Marymount University
• Jessica Vasquez-Tokos, Professor, Sociology, University of Oregon
• Linda Trinh Vo, Professor, Asian American Studies, UC Irvine
• Daniel Woo, American Culture Studies Postdoctoral Fellow in Ethnic Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

Concluding remarks: Howard Winant, Professor, Sociology, UC Santa Barbara 

Reception: 5-7pm - Video now available at this link

Heyns Patio, Faculty Club. 

• Featuring remarks by:

  • Philip Kan Gotanda, Professor of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies, UC Berkeley​

  • Michael Omi, Professor Emeritus, Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, UC Berkeley
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• ​And live music by the Michael Omi Ad Hoc Band, or MOAHB: Philip Kan Gotanda, Peter Horikoshi, Wendy Horikoshi, Joanne Wong, and Michael Omi

Sponsors:

Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, Asian American Research Center, Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, Othering & Belonging Institute, Ethnic Studies, Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, Center for Race & Gender

This event is free and open to the public. Event is ADA accessible. For disability accommodation requests and information, please contact issi@berkeley.edu 510 642-0813