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(Return to Andrew Chin's homepage) Last updated: February 8, 1997 01:51 EST
The Sunday Group is a worldwide network of Asian Americans who are interested in politics, public affairs, current events, social trends and other issues affecting Asian Americans. It was formed in response to the continuing invisibility of Asian Americans in American public discourse, and is modeled after a domain from which Asian Americans have been entirely excluded: the weekend political talk show on network television. The goal of the Sunday Group is to challenge this public invisibility by demonstrating the relevance of diverse Asian American perspectives to American current affairs. The Sunday Group meets every Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern Time (3 p.m. Pacific) via telnet chat. (New users please click on "telnet chat.") Discussions last 30 minutes, but may be extended by group consensus. Each week, there will be a moderator and an editor. The group will be non-hierarchical, so moderating and editing duties will rotate. Except for the first meeting, the moderator and editor will be different people. Here's the transcript from the latest meeting. The moderator's job is to facilitate the most orderly and comprehensive discussion during the time available by raising questions and -- perhaps more importantly -- closing debates after the main points have been raised. The moderator also compiles a list of topics for discussion and tries to locate and forward on-line background materials on these topics. The moderator should forward the agenda for Sunday's meeting by the preceding Friday morning. The editor's job is to log the discussion and edit the transcript for clarity and mechanics (grammar, spelling and punctuation) only. Because of the nature of Internet chat, responses may arrive out of sequence, so substantial editing may be necessary to make the transcript intelligible to a non- participant. Ideally, the editor should perform this editing task immediately after the meeting, while the flow of the discussion is still fresh in her mind. The editor will also need to search/replace IRC nicks with real names and append background information on the Sunday Group. The final edited transcript should be forwarded to Andrew Chin for posting on USENET by Monday evening. Each participant is responsible for preparing to participate in each Sunday's discussion and being on time. The discussion will begin promptly on the hour, so arrive at least 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Ideally, the group will grow to about 8-10 regular participants, with at least 6 members taking part each week. I would like to aim for the maximum possible diversity across dimensions of ideology, gender, ethnicity, geography, age, and generation. Right now, we're a bit heavy on Yalies, diverse though Yalies may be. If you have any suggestions for additional participants, let me know and we'll invite them along. So far, the following people have been invited to the Sunday Group: Ramamoorthi Bhaskar If you are interested in participating in the group and are not on the list, please reply to Andrew Chin expressing your interest. We are looking for people who are committed to the success of this project. As an ongoing effort, we will also pursue relationships with the mainstream media. I envision providing a subscription service so that the media can be provided with Sunday Group transcripts by email, as well as a Sunday Group web site that will archive transcripts for future readers. Thank you for your interest in the Sunday Group. First Meeting: Sunday, January 5, 1997. Second Meeting: Sunday, January 12, 1997. Third Meeting: Sunday, January 19, 1997. Fourth Meeting: Sunday, January 26, 1997. Fifth Meeting: Sunday, February 2, 1997. Sixth Meeting: Sunday, February 9, 1997, 6 p.m. Eastern)br> ------------- Moderator and Editor: Andrew Chin Topic: Clinton's State of the Union Address. 1. What, if anything, does it show about Clinton's (and Washington's) current thinking about Asian Americans? 2. Which policy proposals in the State of the Union Address are particularly relevant to Asian Americans? Where should we stand on these issues? |
