This talk examines how contemporary Cultural Studies is shaped by institutional and political pressures while confronting demands for engaged public pedagogies. Focusing on the racialization of settler colonial Asian identities and insights from critical whiteness theory, Dr. Teo explores how universities produce and regulate knowledge about race. Further, by considering how Asian racialization has been alternately hypervisible and marginalized within Western academic discourse, the talk interrogates how institutional norms reproduce racial hierarchies prejudicial to this racialized group through curriculum design, hiring and promotion practices, and standards of “neutral” scholarship. He also considers tensions between academic insularity and public scholarship, asking whether Cultural Studies can contribute meaningfully to debates on race despite institutional constraints. In doing so, this talk highlights the field’s role in fostering critical reflection onpower,representation, andaccountability. 

Dr. Aaron Teo is a Critical Sociologist of Education at the University of Southern Queensland and a 2026 Bonn International Fellow. He serves on the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Anti Racism Education Reference Group and the Australian Association for Research in Education’s Research Development Advisory Committee. He is editor of Critical Studies in Education, convenor of the AARE Social Justice Special Interest Group, and Queensland convenor of the Asian Australian Alliance. His research examines the raced and gendered subjectivities of Asian migrant communities in Australia, focusing on migration, racism, sexism, critical Asia literacy, multiculturalism, and critical pedagogies in predominantly white educational spaces. 

This event is organised by the University of Bonn and the North American Studies Program and is a part of the "Current Issues in North American & Cultural Studies Lecture Series". 

This event is organized by the University of Bonn. If you have any questions or comments, please contact the organizer directly.