Prof Yen Le Espiritu speaks of immigration and Pinoy community in the U.S.

Prof Yen Le Espiritu speaks of immigration and Pinoy community in the U.S.

Dr. Yen Le Espiritu speaking at OCAD University, Toronto

A Conversation/Interview featuring Dr. Yen Le Espiritu, Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego, was held Friday, Oct. 9 at OCAD University.

The event was attended mainly by Filipino community members, as well as some academic. In an interview/conversation format conducted by Conely de Leon, a PhD student at York University; and Jennilee Austria, youth settlement worker and writer for The Philippine Reporter, Espiritu responded to questions about the similarities and differences of Filipino American and Filipino-Canadian experiences, especially by youth, as impacted by difference in immigration systems, among others. She also described how ethnic studies evolved with the times when immigration/migration has become a major phenomenon in the world.

From left: Dr. Yen Le Espiritu, Conely de Leon and Jennilee Austria

She also described how de-professionalization manifested in the under-skilling of foreign-trained professionals in the United States, just as it was happening in Canada, An author of a number of books, Dr. Espiritu has been at the forefront of research on Filipino-American and Pan-Asian experiences for more than two decades. Her writings on Filipinos/as in San Diego, in particular, have provided a vivid portrait of how youth, gender, class and race affect the lived realities of these communities. The event was a collaboration between OCADU’s Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences and with York University’s Centre for Asian Research (YCAR).

Dr. Robert Diaz, Assistant Professor at OCAD University

From the audience, Bern Jagunos and Fe Bisuna