James Zarsadiaz headshot

James Zarsadiaz

Associate Professor

Program Director
Full-Time Faculty
Socials

Biography

James Zarsadiaz is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Yuchengco Philippine Studies Program. He specializes in United States history, particularly urban and suburban history and Asian American history. James currently sits on the board of the Association for Asian American Studies. Prof. Zarsadiaz was a fellow at both the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and Asian Pacific American Center. Prior to entering academia, James worked in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

He is the author of Resisting Change in Suburbia: Asian Immigrants and Frontier Nostalgia in L.A. (University of California Press, 2022), which is the 2023 recipient of the Organization of American Historians' Lawrence W. Levine Award. James is presently working on a second book focused on Asian American conservatism since the Cold War. Prof. Zarsadiaz's research articles include: "Design Assimilation in Suburbia: Asian Americans, Built Landscapes, and Suburban Advantage in Los Angeles's San Gabriel Valley since 1970" (co-authored with Becky Nicolaides), which won the Urban History Association's Arnold Hirsch Award and the Vernacular Architecture Forum's Catherine W. Bishir Prize; "Raising Hell in the Heartland: Filipino Chicago and the Anti-Martial Law Movement, 1972-1986," which received an Honorable Mention from the Filipino Section of the Association for Asian American Studies; and "Methodists against Martial Law: Filipino Chicagoans and the Church's Role in a Global Crusade." James has also published work in Amerasia Journal, International Migration Review, Journal of Asian American Studies, Journal of Social History, New Jersey Studies, and Pacific Historical Review, as well as for media outlets including Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Washington Post. He has done live interviews across media platforms including ABC, BBC, CBS, MSNBC, NBC, and NPR regarding current affairs and his research.

Expertise

  • Urban and Suburban Studies
  • Immigrants and the Built Environment 
  • Asian American Communities and Cultures 
  • Conservatism in the U.S.
  • Oral History

Research Areas

  • Urban and Suburban History
  • Asian American History
  • Cultural History 
  • Political History

Appointments

  • Program Director, Yuchengco Philippine Studies

Education

  • PhD, History, Northwestern University
  • MA, History, Northwestern University
  • BA, American Studies and Political Science, George Washington University

Awards & Distinctions

  • Lawrence W. Levine Award, Organization of American Historians, 2023
  • Best Article (Honorable Mention), Association for Asian American Studies, Filipino Section, 2020
  • Catherine W. Bishir Prize, Vernacular Architecture Forum, 2018
  • Arnold Hirsch Award, Urban History Association, 2016

Selected Publications

  • Zarsadiaz, J. (2022). Resisting Change in Suburbia: Asian Immigrants and Frontier Nostalgia in L.A. University of California Press.
  • Zarsadiaz, J. (2021). "Methodists against Martial Law: Filipino Chicagoans and the Church's Role in a Global Crusade." Alon: Journal for Filipinx American and Diasporic Studies 1(3).
  • Zarsadiaz, J. (2017). "Raising Hell in the Heartland: Filipino Chicago and the Anti-Martial Law Movement, 1972-1986." American Studies, 56(1), 141-162.
  • Zarsadiaz, J. and Nicolaides, B. (2015). "Design Assimilation in Suburbia: Asian Americans, Built Landscapes, and Suburban Advantage in Los Angeles's San Gabriel Valley since 1970." Journal of Urban History, 43(2), 332-371.

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