Week 2 - Linnea Patterson A02

Linnea Patterson
9 April 2017
ASA 2 Section 2

Week 2 - Marginalization and Miseducation

This week's readings center around the theme of groups being ignored or dismissed, this marginalization leading to unfortunate consequences of ignorance and division. In “Hmong Does Not Mean Free: The Miseducation Of Hmong Americans”, Kaozong Mouavangsou reflects on her own upbringing in the Hmong community, and how her lack of knowledge about her own people, as well as the divisions in her community regarding education, can be traced back to the doings of the educational system. Mouavangsou conducted research by interviewing Hmong families to poise this question about division in her community, as well as questioned the education system that failed her in educating her about her own culture. It was interesting to see the overarching themes that occur in these families; although education is stressed as a vital tool for success, the males see hard work at school as being "wussy", while young women like Mouavangsou felt the need to excel in school to overcome the patriarchal tone that was set in her home. This conclusion that the Hmong believe "Academic success equates to emasculation" (Mouavangsou 16), I thought was fascinating, and points to the division that the educational system creates, with their miseducation of and for the Hmong. I had only ever heard of the name "Hmong" in passing before, but I did not know anything beyond their intricate style of dress, that they are known for. This proves Mouavangsou's point that this lack of education about the Hmong people is prevalent, therefore narrowing the identity of the Hmong people to, in this case, a style of dress.

“Transformative Disjunctures in the Academy” by Linda Trinh Võ also asks the educational system to take into consideration a neglected group of people. Võ analyzes the importance of the Asian-American studies departments in universities, and how even though they are full of accomplished scholars and much research has been done in the field, the academe does not give these Ethnic Studies programs the respect they deserve. Higher education systems still see these programs as a “new academic discipline of the intellectual inquiry” (Võ 139), delegitimizing the importance of representation and history of these minority groups. I like how Võ brought up protests as the main reason for the existence for these departments. It wasn't until many people stood up to Universities that change could occur, and even still, equality does not exist. Võ mentions that scholars in Asian-American studies programs often face discrimination within the academe: “For many people of color, it is not the intellectual demands of the profession that force individuals the exit the academy, but the hostility of the academe, in all of its psychological effects, that wears them down” (Võ 130). This really struck me as so incredibly sad, that higher institutions are so unmovable and harsh that they bully out respected scholars. My question then is this: how are we supposed to gain equality, when even protests over many years prove not fully effective? We can't wait for these institutions to change, because they often do not move easily.

The marginalization that these groups, the Hmong and Asian-American studies community face, are eye-opening to me. In 2017, you would think educational systems would be willing to include groups that have been dismissed for so long, rather than spread miseducation, or lack teaching it all together. Included is a spoken word of a Hmong woman who feels like her assimilation into American society has divided her family and has distanced her from her heritage, similar to the themes Mouavangsou brings up in her piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9TPpl5Z_OA

Works Cited

Lor, C. (2015, December 15). Retrieved April 09, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?                           v=S9TPpl5Z_OA

Mouavangsou, K. N. (2016). The Mis-Education of the Hmong in America (Doctoral

dissertation, University of California, Davis).

Trinh Võ, L. (2012). "Transformative Disjunctures in the Academy: Asian American Studies as

Praxis," in Transforming the Ivory Tower: Challenging Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia in the Academy. Honolulu: HI: University of Hawaii Press, 2012, 120-144.