Laura Ng
@cocalola.bsky.social
Historical archaeologist who studies Asian American/Asian diasporic communities | Assistant Professor of Anthropology @ Grinnell College
Pinned
Laura Ng
@cocalola.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Buried Chinatowns
buriedchinatowns.sites.grinnell.edu
Hi 👋 Thank you for following me, I research Chinese diaspora archaeology. My students and I have a blog on artifacts we're analyzing from two late 19th century-early 20th century Wyoming Chinatowns: buriedchinatowns.sites.grinnell.edu
Reposted by Laura Ng
Devastating essay about living with a terminal cancer diagnosis at 35, made more devastating by the author's relation to the health and human services secretary who's spent the past year cutting cancer research.
A Battle with My Blood
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.
www.newyorker.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Devastating essay about living with a terminal cancer diagnosis at 35, made more devastating by the author's relation to the health and human services secretary who's spent the past year cutting cancer research.
Reposted by Laura Ng
Massive shoutout out to whoever handles the Royal Canadian Air Force’s social media account. They responded to every single comment on their already very solid Trans Day of Remembrance post and they responded like this…
November 22, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Massive shoutout out to whoever handles the Royal Canadian Air Force’s social media account. They responded to every single comment on their already very solid Trans Day of Remembrance post and they responded like this…
Reposted by Laura Ng
November 20, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Reposted by Laura Ng
You were incredible, Alice Wong, and it was a blessing to have collaborated with you on projects, to have read your words and to have heard your voice, as full of life and passion and joy and rage as it was.
You made a difference—so much of a difference.
Rest always in peace, and always in power.
You made a difference—so much of a difference.
Rest always in peace, and always in power.
November 15, 2025 at 7:34 AM
You were incredible, Alice Wong, and it was a blessing to have collaborated with you on projects, to have read your words and to have heard your voice, as full of life and passion and joy and rage as it was.
You made a difference—so much of a difference.
Rest always in peace, and always in power.
You made a difference—so much of a difference.
Rest always in peace, and always in power.
Reposted by Laura Ng
Let me fix that for you:
Texas A&M is limiting how instructors may discuss gender identity and race in classrooms in an assault on academic freedom unseen in America since the Red Scare.
Texas A&M is limiting how instructors may discuss gender identity and race in classrooms in an assault on academic freedom unseen in America since the Red Scare.
November 13, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Let me fix that for you:
Texas A&M is limiting how instructors may discuss gender identity and race in classrooms in an assault on academic freedom unseen in America since the Red Scare.
Texas A&M is limiting how instructors may discuss gender identity and race in classrooms in an assault on academic freedom unseen in America since the Red Scare.
Reposted by Laura Ng
Once again, we have completely lost the thread on how a college education is supposed to work. It’s not major=>job, it’s major=>opportunity to learn critical thinking and expression=>job. Double majors do not produce double opportunities.
www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
November 5, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Once again, we have completely lost the thread on how a college education is supposed to work. It’s not major=>job, it’s major=>opportunity to learn critical thinking and expression=>job. Double majors do not produce double opportunities.
www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
Reposted by Laura Ng
I'm starting to work on designing my "Archaeology and the Public" course for next spring. Does anyone have syllabi, assignments, or lesson plans they'd be willing to share on the subjects of public arch, collaborative arch, pseudoarch, or journalistic & pop culture depictions of arch?🏺 #academicsky
October 6, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I'm starting to work on designing my "Archaeology and the Public" course for next spring. Does anyone have syllabi, assignments, or lesson plans they'd be willing to share on the subjects of public arch, collaborative arch, pseudoarch, or journalistic & pop culture depictions of arch?🏺 #academicsky
Reposted by Laura Ng
This NPR story highlights the AMAZING archeological work of Laura Ng @cocalola.bsky.social. Laura has been tracking down descendants of the original Chinatown, including my dad (who gets a few words in at the end). www.kuow.org/stories/wyom...
Wyoming town erects new monument to violent, anti-immigrant history
At a time when President Trump is going after foreign laborers in the U.S, and saying unflattering accounts of U.S. history should be removed, Rock Springs, Wyoming has put up a new monument to ethnic...
www.kuow.org
September 29, 2025 at 1:13 PM
This NPR story highlights the AMAZING archeological work of Laura Ng @cocalola.bsky.social. Laura has been tracking down descendants of the original Chinatown, including my dad (who gets a few words in at the end). www.kuow.org/stories/wyom...
Reposted by Laura Ng
Radiolab: Podcasts | WNYC Studios | Podcasts
Investigating a strange world.
radiolab.org
September 28, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by Laura Ng
It’s official! We’re launching the UCLA Department of Labor Studies. After years of building as a small but mighty “program,” Labor Studies has been elevated to departmental status. We’re the first but hopefully not the last of our kind in the UC system.
We are thrilled to announce that UCLA Labor Studies is now officially a department!🎉
The UCLA Labor Studies Department is the first of its kind at the UC
Read more about this historic development here: irle.ucla.edu/2025/09/25/u...
The UCLA Labor Studies Department is the first of its kind at the UC
Read more about this historic development here: irle.ucla.edu/2025/09/25/u...
RELEASE– Historic first: UCLA launches Labor Studies Department
UCLA Labor Studies undergraduate major and minor will expand as a new academic department
irle.ucla.edu
September 26, 2025 at 1:10 AM
It’s official! We’re launching the UCLA Department of Labor Studies. After years of building as a small but mighty “program,” Labor Studies has been elevated to departmental status. We’re the first but hopefully not the last of our kind in the UC system.
Reposted by Laura Ng
It's amazing how many people are out there bragging publicly about how they now use ChatGPT to perform pretty much all of their tasks at their well-paid corporate job, and have yet to connect the dots on "if you're making your utility value identical to ChatGPT, why would they keep paying you?"
I am starting to believe that the AI craze actually has, for once, created a genuinely useful way to test someone's intelligence:
are they unquestionably on board with using corporate AI tools for everything, or are they going "whoa, hey, wait a second"?
are they unquestionably on board with using corporate AI tools for everything, or are they going "whoa, hey, wait a second"?
August 11, 2025 at 5:02 PM
It's amazing how many people are out there bragging publicly about how they now use ChatGPT to perform pretty much all of their tasks at their well-paid corporate job, and have yet to connect the dots on "if you're making your utility value identical to ChatGPT, why would they keep paying you?"
Reposted by Laura Ng
Welp here we are again, fresh out of Archaeologists for Skype a Scientist matches.
This fall, we have matched 248 groups with Archaeologists for online Q&As. I have 38 more groups who need a match, but I'm out of Archaeologists!
Archaeologists! Please volunteer
www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html
This fall, we have matched 248 groups with Archaeologists for online Q&As. I have 38 more groups who need a match, but I'm out of Archaeologists!
Archaeologists! Please volunteer
www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html
a woman is smiling and holding a cup that says help me .
Alt: a woman is smiling and holding a cup that says help me .
media.tenor.com
September 22, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Welp here we are again, fresh out of Archaeologists for Skype a Scientist matches.
This fall, we have matched 248 groups with Archaeologists for online Q&As. I have 38 more groups who need a match, but I'm out of Archaeologists!
Archaeologists! Please volunteer
www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html
This fall, we have matched 248 groups with Archaeologists for online Q&As. I have 38 more groups who need a match, but I'm out of Archaeologists!
Archaeologists! Please volunteer
www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html
Reposted by Laura Ng
A moving, searching essay by @bethlewwilliams.bsky.social, who has an important new book, “John Doe Chinaman.” www.newyorker.com/news/the-wee...
The Ritual of Civic Apology
More than a century after driving out their Chinese residents, cities across the West are saying sorry, with parks, plaques, and proclamations. But it’s seldom clear who they’re talking to—or what the...
www.newyorker.com
September 13, 2025 at 1:42 PM
A moving, searching essay by @bethlewwilliams.bsky.social, who has an important new book, “John Doe Chinaman.” www.newyorker.com/news/the-wee...
Reposted by Laura Ng
Texas Tribune confirms that she was NTT
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/08/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/08/t...
Video of clash over gender-identity content in Texas A&M children’s lit class leads to firing, removals
After the video fueled outrage, a professor was fired and two college leaders removed from their administrative roles for approving content inconsistent with the course’s description.
www.texastribune.org
September 10, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Texas Tribune confirms that she was NTT
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/08/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/08/t...
Reposted by Laura Ng
I haven’t been able to face this. Now though I am doing it.
If you're an author and haven't yet signed up for the Anthropic settlement, do yourself a favor (and strike a blow against AI) by checking to see if any of your books were involved.
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
September 10, 2025 at 2:16 AM
I haven’t been able to face this. Now though I am doing it.
Reposted by Laura Ng
Canadian arch lost two incredibly talented people in the Lisboa funicular accident... 😓
www.lapresse.ca/actualites/2...
www.lapresse.ca/actualites/2...
Accident de funiculaire au Portugal | Deux Québécois experts en archéologie parmi les victimes
Un couple de restaurateurs d’objets patrimoniaux très connu dans le milieu de l’archéologie au Québec compte parmi les 16 victimes du déraillement du funiculaire de Lisbonne.
www.lapresse.ca
September 5, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Canadian arch lost two incredibly talented people in the Lisboa funicular accident... 😓
www.lapresse.ca/actualites/2...
www.lapresse.ca/actualites/2...
Reposted by Laura Ng
Trump's very first example of the Smithsonian's "corrosive ideology" was an exhibit that correctly stated "Race is a human invention." How is scientific consensus (that biological races don't exist in humans) corrosive? We are asking scientists to co-sign our statement: forms.gle/kqKQF9CZ3jPB...
September 2, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Trump's very first example of the Smithsonian's "corrosive ideology" was an exhibit that correctly stated "Race is a human invention." How is scientific consensus (that biological races don't exist in humans) corrosive? We are asking scientists to co-sign our statement: forms.gle/kqKQF9CZ3jPB...
Reposted by Laura Ng
In a new interview, I talk with Frontline, one of India's leading news magazines, about my new book on the United States: on America's fortress mentality, the paradoxes of defensive infrastructure, and the risks that India faces in following a similar path.
frontline.thehindu.com/social-issue...
frontline.thehindu.com/social-issue...
Anthropologist Anand Pandian on America’s “Everyday Walls” and the Fragility of Democracy
In his new book, anthropologist Anand Pandian reflects on how gated communities, oversized vehicles, and digital echo chambers deepen social isolation in the United States—and warns that India’s growi...
frontline.thehindu.com
August 20, 2025 at 3:21 PM
In a new interview, I talk with Frontline, one of India's leading news magazines, about my new book on the United States: on America's fortress mentality, the paradoxes of defensive infrastructure, and the risks that India faces in following a similar path.
frontline.thehindu.com/social-issue...
frontline.thehindu.com/social-issue...
Reposted by Laura Ng
Sick fucking bullshit www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/u...
Trump Wants U.C.L.A. to Pay $1 Billion to Restore Its Research Funding
www.nytimes.com
August 8, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Sick fucking bullshit www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/u...
Reposted by Laura Ng
The Culinary Workers Union representing 60,000 hospitality workers in Nevada has achieved a historic victory on the Las Vegas Strip. For the first time in its 90-year history, all major casinos on the Strip are unionized.
All major Las Vegas Strip casinos are now unionized in historic labor victory
The Culinary Workers Union representing 60,000 hospitality workers in Nevada has achieved a historic victory on the Las Vegas Strip.
bit.ly
August 4, 2025 at 10:30 AM
The Culinary Workers Union representing 60,000 hospitality workers in Nevada has achieved a historic victory on the Las Vegas Strip. For the first time in its 90-year history, all major casinos on the Strip are unionized.
Reposted by Laura Ng
The Archaeology of American Protests, coauthored with Dania Talley, is now available for preorder at $45 hardcover with the discount code 31AU825 at the publisher’s website upf.com/book.asp?id=...
The Archaeology of American Protests
Learn more about this book at UPF.com
upf.com
August 2, 2025 at 1:27 PM
The Archaeology of American Protests, coauthored with Dania Talley, is now available for preorder at $45 hardcover with the discount code 31AU825 at the publisher’s website upf.com/book.asp?id=...
Reposted by Laura Ng
***Fellow historians and academics***
Academia is isolating.
If you'd ever like to connect over Zoom to share your work and interests, let me know!
I connected with about 50+ folks via Twitter back during the pandemic, and it was super rewarding.
Academia is isolating.
If you'd ever like to connect over Zoom to share your work and interests, let me know!
I connected with about 50+ folks via Twitter back during the pandemic, and it was super rewarding.
July 29, 2025 at 6:36 PM
***Fellow historians and academics***
Academia is isolating.
If you'd ever like to connect over Zoom to share your work and interests, let me know!
I connected with about 50+ folks via Twitter back during the pandemic, and it was super rewarding.
Academia is isolating.
If you'd ever like to connect over Zoom to share your work and interests, let me know!
I connected with about 50+ folks via Twitter back during the pandemic, and it was super rewarding.
Reposted by Laura Ng
According to one study, nearly 80 per cent of Sikh boys with head coverings in the U.S. report being bullied. Manvir Singh writes about why he wears a turban.
Why I Wear the Turban
The headwear is burdened by stereotypes—but it can carry, too, the pleasures of self-invention.
www.newyorker.com
June 28, 2025 at 7:10 PM
According to one study, nearly 80 per cent of Sikh boys with head coverings in the U.S. report being bullied. Manvir Singh writes about why he wears a turban.