Demonstration against the construction of the DD Ramp into Chinatown, circa 1997, photographer Anne Marie Booth. Asian American Resource Workshop records, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.
Introducing the Asian American Resource Workshop Finding Aid Contributed by Dominique Medal
The Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW) was founded in 1979 as one of Boston’s first pan-Asian organizations. AARW expanded from an initial focus on cultural and educational programming to addressing social and economic justice issues facing the Asian American community, including violence against Asian Americans and urban renewal and development in Chinatown.
Two women painting a mural of faces, circa 1990, photographer unknown. Asian American Resource Workshop records, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.
The records held by the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections date from 1979 to 2012 and document AARW’s activities through administrative records, photographs, reports, documentaries, promotional materials, and subject files.
The collection focuses on AARW programs, including Asian and Pacific American Heritage Week, the Boston Asian American Film Festival, the Civil Rights Capacity Building Project, the SafetyNet Violence Prevention Project, and the Sticky Rice Project.
To learn more about the Asian American Resource Workshop records, explore the finding aid and digitized content from the collection in the Digital Repository Service.
Introducing the Fenway Alliance Finding Aid Contributed by Irene Gates
The Fenway Alliance is a consortium of Fenway neighborhood cultural organizations and educational institutions (including Northeastern University). It was first founded in 1977 as The Boston Plan. The consortium addresses areas of shared concern that range from security and parking to physical improvements of the neighborhood.
The records date from the 1970s to the 2010s and document the administrative records, plans, reports, photographs, and subject files. A recent donation by the organization’s Director of Planning from the late 1970s to the 1990s includes photographic slides such as the one featured here.
Back Bay Fens, July 1988, photographer unknown. Fenway Alliance records, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.
Collection topics include Fenway area transportation, housing, demographics, physical landscape, historic preservation, and cultural programming. Some major projects undertaken by the Fenway Alliance in the past include the Avenue of the Arts designation, the Fenway Cultural District designation, and the Muddy River restoration.
To learn more about the Fenway Alliance records, explore the finding aid.
The end of April means the end of the semester! Congratulations to all of Northeastern’s 2024 grads, and to everyone who made it through final exams and final projects.
Aliah Mahadeo is the April Reading Challenge winner! Aliah will receive a digital gift card to bookshop.org—perfect for picking up some new summer reads. Congratulations to everyone who read a book this month and told us about it. April’s theme was “a book about nature, the environment, or climate change.” Here are some of the eco-focused titles you enjoyed:
What You Read This Month
Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World, John Vaillant Listen to the audiobook “A stressful and well-written read, edge-of-your-seat action and the science behind modern fire.” — Kim
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster, Jon Krakauer Find it at Snell | Find it at F. W. Olin “I listened to the audiobook, which had me on the edge of my bus seat during my morning and evening commutes. Jon Krakauer’s firsthand account of the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster is gripping and visceral, and you can really feel his own heartbreak, helplessness and guilt. Really, though, maybe people should stop climbing Mt. Everest?” — Brooke
Birnam Wood, Eleanor Catton Read the e-book | Find it at Snell “There’s no such thing as an ethical billionaire.” — Priscila
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Elizabeth Kolbert Find it at Snell | Find it at F. W. Olin “It explores the current mass extinction event and the impact of human activity on the planet’s biodiversity. Kolbert provides a compelling narrative that weaves together scientific research, history, and personal anecdotes to illustrate the severity of the ecological crisis we face. It’s a thought-provoking and sobering read that sheds light on the urgent need for action to protect our planet. — Sudhanva
The Overstory: A Novel, Richard Powers Read the e-book | Find it at Snell | Find it at F. W. Olin “This book was greatly out of my comfort zone…I really enjoyed how all the characters’ stories were so interconnected with each other and the natural world. I really enjoy books that really focus on the characters, so I really liked that about this book, but I did find it to be very slow and sometimes the wording seemed a bit muddled or dense. I overall liked this book even though it was not the type of book I normally read.” — Aura
The Age of Miracles: A Novel, Karen Thompson Walker Find it at Snell “The Age of Miracles is a poignant and thought-provoking novel that explores the consequences of the Earth’s rotation shown through the eyes of a young Julia. Karen Thompson Walker’s storytelling is both captivating and hauntingly beautiful, offering a unique perspective on resilience, adaptation, and the fragility of human existence. The novel’s exploration of the interconnected way of all living things and the importance of cherishing the present moment makes it a standout work of speculative fiction that stays with the readers, including me, long after they have finished reading. Highly recommended for those interested in thought-provoking narratives about the human condition in the face of existential crisis.” — Shivangi
And What to Read in May
The Reading Challenge theme for May is “a comic book or graphic novel.” Whether you’re a longtime comics fan or brand new to the genre, here are some recommendations for your May read!
They Called Us Enemy, George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven R. Scott, and Harmony Becker Read the e-book | Find it at Snell | Find it at F. W. Olin Long before he played Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek, George Takei was born to Japanese immigrants living in Los Angeles. In 1942, when Takei was five years old, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which ordered the incarceration of all Japanese and Japanese American people living in the United States. For the next three years, until World War II ended, Takei and his family were shuttled between internment camps. They Called Us Enemy is Takei’s graphic memoir of life behind the barbed wire of the camps, and of the resilience of his family and community in the face of a hostile and suspicious nation.
Black Panther, Volume 1: A Nation Under Our Feet, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze Read the e-book | Find it at Snell | Find it at F. W. Olin Even if you’re not a Marvel superfan, it’s hard not to be thrilled by Ta-Nehisi Coates’ rendering of T’Challa, aka Black Panther, the Wakandan king who doubles as a superhero. Coates’ story and Stelfreeze’s illustrations bring Wakanda to life in all its Afro-futuristic sci-fi super-tech glory.
Paper Girls, Brian K. Vaughn, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson, and Jared K. Fletcher Find it at Snell | Find it at F. W. Olin It’s easy to imagine Stranger Things vibes in this series from Saga creator Brian K. Vaughn, but Paper Girls defies all comparisons. In 1988, four young paper girls discover a mystery that will shake their small suburban world to its foundations.
The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, Tom Hanks Read the e-book If anyone knows the movie business, it’s Tom Hanks. This unique novel, interspersed with Tom Hanks-created comic books, offers a tongue-in-cheek glimpse behind the behind-the-scenes of Hollywood. A World War II soldier returns home, then disappears; a comic book artist creates a superhero based on that soldier; a director decides to turn that comic book into a superhero epic; and then we meet the eccentric cast and crew.
Need more reading recommendations? Check out our suggested e-books and audiobooks for May! If you’re in Boston, you can stop by the Snell Library lobby in person on May 15 and 16 for Reading Challenge stickers, bookmarks, comics and graphic novels to check out, and friendly librarians who love talking about books!
And when you finish your next book, make sure to tell us about it for a chance to win the May prize drawing! (For more chances to win, make sure you submit your reading to the Massachusetts Center for the Book, as well as the Northeastern University Library.)
March is over, and with the end of the month comes a new Reading Challenge winner!.Congratulations to Amanda Myron, whose name was drawn this month. Amanda is based at the Roux Institute in Portland, Maine, and will be receiving a Northeastern University Library finals week/end-of-semester care package.
And big congratulations to everyone else who read a book this month and told us about it. There are still nine more months of the Reading Challenge, so if you haven’t won yet, you still have time. For more chances to win, make sure to submit your reading to the Massachusetts Center for the Book, as well as the Northeastern University Library.
What You Read This Month
The theme for March was “a book whose protagonist has a different culture or lifestyle than you,” which opened up a lot of possibilities. Here are some of the stories you enjoyed this month:
Wandering Stars, Tommy Orange Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook “Beautifully written and raw prose from multiple POVs dealing with important historical realities as well as contemporary issues faced by the Native American community. It is important to acknowledge the historical events in this book and the experience of people who lived through them. It was difficult reading because it was real and life is often difficult and messy but there is hope in the end of the book which is a testament to resilience.” — Carla
The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook | Find it at Snell “I absolutely adore Abraham Verghese and was so excited when I learned he had another book coming out. It’s a long book but never felt like it was dragging. I loved it!” — Kerri
“This book makes you wonder about how big and small our lives are at the same time. It encapsulates the life of three generations of the same family set in a small town in Kerala and how the world changing around them is affecting them but also not at the same time…One of the best. Read it many times. Let it sink in.” — Anoushka
Shark Heart: A Love Story, Emily Habeck Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook “What a masterpiece of lyrical writing. The author presents us with layered characters with different issues and traumas that manage to find wholeness and joy throughout the painful process of life. — Priscila
Land of Milk and Honey, C Pam Zhang Listen to the audiobook | Find it at Snell | Find it at F. W. Olin “Engaging storyline, complex characters, thoughtful setting, and poetic writing. Poses a question to the reader of who they are, of where they’re from, and of what constitutes them.” — Harrison
The Island of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak Find it at Snell “I thought I was choosing a different culture by picking a book with a protagonist who is an immigrant from Cyprus living in London. Little did I know that the main protagonist of the book would be a fig tree. A truly insightful, deep, and intriguing read!” — Michal
The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, Andrew Leland Listen to the audiobook | Find it at Snell “This memoir opened up an entire world for me, one that I was only vaguely aware of before delving into it. Leland’s account of losing his vision to retinitis pigmentosa and the incredible people he’s met on his journey towards becoming blind were at once moving and educational. Before reading this book, the thought of becoming blind myself would have terrified me. Now, I see that blindness is not something to mourn or fear, but rather a different way of being in the world that comes with its own joys and challenges. It’s a beginning, rather than an ending.” — Bianca
And What to Read in April
The theme for April is “a book about nature, the environment, or climate change.” which is perfectly on theme to celebrate Earth Day on April 22. Here are some eco-friendly reads to help you get in touch with nature—even if you’re stuck studying for finals.
Birnam Wood, Eleanor Catton Read the e-book | Find it at Snell A guerrilla farming group in New Zealand takes on an American billionaire in this thriller (yes, a thriller about guerrilla farming!) that Stephen King calls “as good as it gets” and “a treat.”
Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World, Christian Cooper Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook Christian Cooper unwittingly came to the public’s attention in May 2020, when a video went viral of a white dog owner calling the police on Cooper, a Black man, after he asked her to leash her dog. But beyond the Central Park incident, Christian Cooper is an avid bird watcher, a science writer and editor, and the first openly gay writer and editor at Marvel Comics. Cooper’s memoir explores the pleasures of nature, travel, and birds.
Yours for the Taking, Gabrielle Korn Listen to the audiobook In the climate apocalypse of 2050, cities are in ruins, and the air is toxic. The privileged take refuge in climate-proof settlements, but Ava knows she won’t be among them—until she meets billionaire visionary Jacqueline Millender, who is building the newest climate-proof settlement in New York City. But as Ava and those around her bask in the newfound security of “Inside,” they begin to realize that something is very wrong, and Jacqueline might not be what she seems.
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?, Kelly Weinersmith Read the e-book | Find it at Snell “Wherever you are on this planet,” this book begins, “you’ve recently given some thought to leaving it.” Human colonization of Mars seems like an alluring option in the face of climate change, but as Kelly Weinersmith points out, we might not have really thought this through. A City on Mars looks at the facts of Martian colonization through a funny and approachable lens, with clever illustrations by the author’s husband.
One of my professional development goals this year was to develop and improve my cultural competency. Cultural competence is the ability to shift perspective and adapt behavior among cultures.
In support of this goal, I took two training courses that I’d recommend and like to share. The first one was the Association of Moving Image Archivists’ Cross-Cultural Competency Series, which consisted of three webinars given by Alanna Aiko Moore, Librarian for Sociology, Ethnic Studies, and Critical Gender Students at the University of California San Diego Library.
The first session was on Social Identity, Power Dynamics & Privilege. We learned about the role of power and privilege in the workplace and discussed some ideas of how those with more power can use it to create a fairer environment. Some ideas were mentoring, making introductions, practicing microaffirmations, and active listening.
A big part of cultural competency is the ability to understand your own cultural perspective. In this session, we did a poll on which identity we think about least. On top were immigration status, indigenous heritage, and religion. Moore suggested we might use these as guides for further reading and investigation.
The second session was on Organizational Culture, Bias, Microaggressions, and Allyship. We talked about some ways to disrupt bias. One is the implicit association tests from Harvard University. I had taken some of these before, but I got really interested in took most of them. I am using the results to guide my reading projects, particularly a goal to read more books by and about women in STEM.
The final session was Inclusive Recruitment & Retention Policies. Moore talked about some general frameworks: creating a consistent and structured process, be proactively person- and empathy-centered, committing to looking out for bias, and being wary of the notion of “fit.”
One example she gave was the job requirement of excellent written and oral communication skills as ableist. I asked about how to get at this when communication skills are important to the job. She suggested relating it to job responsibilities (for example, high quality customer service), or using a phrase like “ability to communicate effectively and knowledgeably across different mediums.”
Moore also suggested running job descriptions through the gender decoder tool. Some words are coded more masculine while others are coded more feminine. The research suggests that a feminine-coded job description will only have a slight effect on men but will encourage more women to apply.
Next, we talked about fostering a sense of belonging. One way to do this is the stay interview, which aims to supply a venue to understand more about how employees feel about the work, the organization, and their future. Some stay interview questions are:
What are we not currently doing as an organization that you feel we should?
What growth opportunities are of the most interest to you?
What motivates you?
If you could change something about your job, what would it be?
Jones talked about the benefits of diversity for business success. Multicultural teams outperform monocultural teams, but only if the team leader is culturally competent. The leader must understand the different cultural backgrounds of the team members and work to bring out the advantages of having different perspectives while navigating the challenges of a lack of shared cultural foundation.
I also had the opportunity to take a test called the Intercultural Development Inventory and have a one-on-one debrief session with a trained facilitator to unpack the meaning of the results and name potential areas for growth. The model outlines a development from a monocultural mindset to an intercultural mindset.
In polarization, one sees differences and judges it, sometimes in a defensive way, like “my culture is better than others,” and some in a reversal way, like “my culture is worse than others.”
Minimization is the most common attitude among white people in North America. Some examples of this mindset are:
describing yourself as “colorblind.”
treating everyone the same.
believing that we live in a post-racial society.
While noble in intention, this can lead to minimizing differences and requiring people to perform the dominant culture.
In acceptance, one deeply understands differences, and in adaptation, one bridges across differences and is comfortable being in diverse cultures.
The discussion was great, and I created a cultural development plan with journaling and places to increase my knowledge. One of my key areas of growth was focusing on constructivist listening, which is the skill of creating space for others to share without immediately looking for communalities, trying to direct the conversation, or ignore differences. There’s nothing wrong with making connections through similarities, but it’s a matter of balance.
In continuing my explorations, I just finished the book The Culture Map, which discusses how cultures vary around the world on eight different continuums and gives tips for managing international teams.
The Northeastern University Library is pleased to announce that we now offer online access to the Washington Post for all current Northeastern faculty, staff, and students.
The new subscription allows the Northeastern community to keep up with breaking news and opinion directly through the Washington Post website at washingtonpost.com or wapo.com. Northeastern readers will be able to select and read all articles without encountering a paywall, as well as share 10 “gift” articles with non-subscriber friends each month. Access includes the Washington Post app, photos, video, audio, reader comments, newsletters, and yes, games and crosswords.
The Washington Post is an important newspaper of record, with the largest circulation in the greater Washington, D.C., area. Its strengths are inside-the-beltway political coverage, national and international news, and a tradition of award-winning investigative journalism.
