A meditation on homeland, belonging and activism: the inspiring life story of pioneering Korean American academic Elaine H. Kim
The story of writer, editor and professor Elaine H. Kim begins in the 1940s with a childhood marked by social isolation. In Primary Sources, Kim's much-anticipated memoir, the trailblazing scholar reflects upon the experiences that shaped her life's remarkable path: growing up as one of the few Korean Americans on the East Coast, going to Korea to teach only to realize that identity functions as both a bridge and a barrier, and becoming the first Asian American woman to gain tenure at UC Berkeley and helping to found the Ethnic Studies Department and the Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies Program there. Throughout, Kim writes with honesty and humor about single motherhood, activism and the radical act of building community across differences. Primary Sources is both a personal journey and a deeply compassionate invitation to collectively rethink belonging and justice in order to imagine a future shaped by us all. Elaine H. Kim (born 1942) is Professor Emerita of Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She has also served as President of the Association for Asian American Studies and on the National Council of the American Studies Association.
STATUS: Forthcoming | 4/28/2026
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A meditation on homeland, belonging and activism: the inspiring life story of pioneering Korean American academic Elaine H. Kim
The story of writer, editor and professor Elaine H. Kim begins in the 1940s with a childhood marked by social isolation. In Primary Sources, Kim's much-anticipated memoir, the trailblazing scholar reflects upon the experiences that shaped her life's remarkable path: growing up as one of the few Korean Americans on the East Coast, going to Korea to teach only to realize that identity functions as both a bridge and a barrier, and becoming the first Asian American woman to gain tenure at UC Berkeley and helping to found the Ethnic Studies Department and the Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies Program there. Throughout, Kim writes with honesty and humor about single motherhood, activism and the radical act of building community across differences. Primary Sources is both a personal journey and a deeply compassionate invitation to collectively rethink belonging and justice in order to imagine a future shaped by us all.
Elaine H. Kim (born 1942) is Professor Emerita of Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She has also served as President of the Association for Asian American Studies and on the National Council of the American Studies Association.
