This talk presents key insights from my recent research on the patterns and meanings of anti-Asian racism across North America. It shows that experiences of discrimination are not uniform but shaped by nativity, local coethnic composition, and broader ideological and cultural contexts. The analysis also reveals that perceptions of anti-Asian racism arise not only from direct experiences but from shifting racial identities, political dynamics, and cultural understandings of discrimination. By integrating comparative and structural perspectives, the talk advances a more context-sensitive and theoretically grounded approach to studying anti-Asian racism.

Cary Wu is Associate Professor of Sociology and York Research Chair at York University. He is also a Faculty Fellow at the York Centre for Asian Research and the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research. His research focusing on contemporary China and the comparative study of political culture and public opinion has appeared in leading journals such as Daedalus: Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, International Political Science Review, Journal of Contemporary China, Chinese Sociological Review, and Asian Survey. He is co-editor (with Yida Zhai) of the forthcoming Routledge International Handbook of the COVID-19 Pandemic in China.

For more information, please refer to the attached PDF

• DATE: Thursday, April 23, 2026
• TIME: 16:45-18:15
• LOCATION:SIN 1, Department for East Asian Studies/Chinese Studies, Altes AKH, Campus, Spitalgasse 2, Yard 2, Entrance 2.3