Q: Hello! Would you please briefly introduce yourself and your field of study?
Sure! I’m the Riley Scholar in the Asian Studies Program this academic year. I received my PhD training in Asian Studies and Asian American Studies at Cornell University and I also hold a Master’s degree from the School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. I teach and research within the field of Asian Studies and Asian American Studies.
Q: What made you want to specialize in Asian Studies and Asian American Studies?
Well, I have a longer answer to that question… I’m a first-generation college student and I’m also Filipino American, so I grew up in the diaspora. When I first entered college, I wanted to be an Asian Americanist. However, there was no Asian American Studies program at my school and in fact, I didn’t know there was a difference between Asian Studies and Asian American Studies. So, I majored in Asian Studies and then I learned Japanese; I ended up studying in Japan for a year and I really enjoyed it, but it was when I went to graduate school at the University of Hawai‘i that I narrowed my academic focus. I was immersed in an academic community full of scholars in Asian Studies and Asian American Studies asking questions like: What does it mean to decolonize? What are the ways in which colonialism exists?
Q: As we look to the year ahead, what class are you particularly excited about teaching and why?
I’m excited to teach Introduction to Asian American Studies in Block 5. Traditionally, Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary field that draws from history, political science, literature, etc. At the same time, Asian Studies has historically under-utilized the perspectives from Asian America. I am excited to bring this introductory course to CC to highlight the dynamic field of Asian American Studies and to show the kind of research questions that this field can bring to the study of Asia.
Q: I know that your students are looking forward to it! Lastly, as you’ve been in Colorado Springs since July now, what’s your favorite thing to do here?
Well, I have a favorite restaurant! It’s called Julie’s Kitchen; it’s a restaurant that serves Filipino and Local Hawai‘i plate lunch. Highly recommend!
Dr. Buyco is a literary scholar whose research and teaching interests focus on critical approaches to the study of Asia and its diasporas, especially as it relates to the Pacific islands, and US militarism, and settler colonialism in the Pacific. At Colorado College, Ryan has taught “Asian Literature, Culture and Film under US Occupation” (Block 2) and will be teaching “Introduction to Asian American Studies” (Block 5), and “Asian Settler Colonialism” (Block 7).
