Joseph Allen Ruanto-Ramirez Oral History

Oral History of Joseph Allen Ruanto-Ramirez. He is a queer, Buddhist, Indigenous Asian American, scholar-activist, refugee who came to the United States as a natural disaster refugee in 1991 from the Philippines. He is affiliated with the Raza Resource Centro. In this Oral History, he shared details of his childhood, why he decided to pursue Ethnic Studies, and how he explores the intricacies of culture and identity. The interview covers topics such as the importance of Ethnics Studies, identities and the importance of stories. This interview was conducted in person at the UCSD Price Center recorded over zoom. I reached out to him because he was my fraternity advisor. The interview was conducted by Louie Zhao, a third year Bioengineering major at UCSD who is interested in learning more about Ethnic Studies.