TYLER PHAN

Tyler Phan is an anthropologist, scholar in Asian and Asian American Studies, and religions. They received a Ph.D. from University College London (UCL), focusing on the social history of acupuncture in the United States called American Chinese Medicine. Before obtaining a Ph.D., Dr. Phan pursued a M.A. in Religions of Asia (now known as Buddhist Studies) at the renowned School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) – University of London.

Since 2018, Dr. Phan has taught in the Department of Anthropology and Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). In 2023, Dr. Phan created the first Asian American Studies course at Pitt called “Asian America: Reckoning.” The following year, Dr. Phan joined Carlow University’s College of Arts & Sciences teaching subjects on Asian America, resistance, and decolonization.

Dr. Phan’s scholarly pursuits encompass an interdisciplinary exploration at the intersection of race and post-colonial studies with anthropology, science and technology studies (STS), law, history, and medical humanities, particularly focusing on the dynamics within Asian and Asian American contexts, ontology, religion, and corporeality.

Presently, Dr. Phan is deeply engaged in three pivotal projects: “When White People Took Our Medicine,” “Counter Culture Orientalism,” “Anti-Asian,” and “Without Enlightenment.” The former project meticulously traces the social history of Chinese medicine in America against the backdrop of anti-Asian policies, particularly emphasizing the regulation of acupuncture needles. “Counter Culture Orientalism (CCO)” scrutinizes the appropriation and transformation of medical, contemplative, and somatic practices originating from South and East Asia during the mid-twentieth century, as they were assimilated into North American and European contexts by predominantly white countercultural movements of the 1960s and 70s, often distorting these practices to fit orientalist paradigms. “Anti-Asian” critically analyzes the construction of a collective “Asian American” identity in response to the social, political, and economic antagonism perpetuated by whiteness and white supremacy. Dr. Phan argues that this homogeneous identity emerges from a complex interplay of anti-Asian policies, warfare, social inequities, as well as resilience and healing. Without Enlightenment tackles the idea of negation and nihilism from an epistemological lens, focusing on commensality and an argument for a flat epistemology.

Beyond academic commitments, Dr. Phan is a fifth-generation Vietnamese medicine practitioner who operates Pittsburgh Community Acupuncture.

Research interests: Asian and Asian American Struggles, Asian Religions, Anti-Colonial Struggles, Whiteness Studies, Science and Technology Studies (STS), Armed Struggle, Direct Action, State Repression