Ethnic studies is important because society is and will continue to be diverse. The study of how people get along with each other is crucial if we are to build a more perfect union of freedom and justice for all. Women’s studies is an important allied field in this work to be sure.

I would hope that ethnic studies programs and departments become more commonplace, and that some of the subject matter that is now taught mainly in ethnic studies would be integrated into other parts of the curriculum.

For Asian-Pacific American studies, there will be a shift as the children of today’s immigrants start having families and children. In the last census, the overwhelming majority of Asian-Pacific Americans were either immigrants or the children of immigrants. I would expect that someone who grows up in a household where everyone was born in this country will have a different experience than someone who has come from elsewhere, or who grew up in a household where “over there” is as real as your father and mother. So the research questions might shift away from studying the experience of making a life in a new country to other questions. What does it mean to be identified as a “foreigner” if both you and your parents are U.S.-born, for instance?

I was born on the island of Oahu, but I don’t consider myself a native because I am of Japanese-American descent. A Hawaiian would be someone of indigenous descent. The indigenous population can trace their origins back for thousands of years. Today, about 10 percent of Hawaii’s population is indigenous.