Week 10: Kelsey Kim

Section A03

In "The Time to Fight is Now: When Asian American Women Go Rogue," the authors use Star Wars allusions to illustrate how the world of Academia is full of abuse and injustice, especially towards Asian American women. They claim that academia is not the "ivory tower" that it stands for. Rather than a process to achieving liberty and value based on merit, the system is hypocritical and elevates unqualified people while suppressing some who are and does not fulfill the advertised promise. Furthermore, the corrupt system is responsible for the high-stress environment on campuses and the chronic illnesses People of color and Asian American women are not able to receive tenure, tenure-track positions, or promotions etc. with the same ease that white males do. This anthology's call to action is to one for exposure of the shortcomings of higher education. Labor issues, systemic oppression, and structural injustices in higher education all with a focus on Asian American women were topics discussed in the text.

I think that this anthology provides more insight on the cumulative themes discussed throughout the quarter.  The authors state that "Asian American women are particularly significant for understanding the failings of the hierarchical academic system because they are falsely positioned between dominant and minority positions as the idealized worker, aka the model minority" (Dariotis and Valverde 2). I like this quote because it helps me visualize the position of Asian American women in society and higher education- privileged, but restricted freedom. Only if these women fulfill the model minority stereotype, then they will be paid their dues. However, a mind of a scholar is able to discern the myth of such privilege and speak out against it. The biggest takeaway of the anthology is that one's voice is a superpower thus, the way to break the oppressive silence is to use speak up. The authors close with a depiction of Asian American studies as a rebel alliance within the Empire (Academia) and explain that through this discipline, professors will be able to re-ignite education and its power to liberate minds. I think this point corroborates what we covered last week about the attempts to minimize ethnic studies in the sense that POC voices are continuously marginalized and must not be silenced any longer.  We have spent the entire quarter diving into the corruption in higher education without discussing solutions. However, this message is suiting for the last week's source.

Asian American studies is a small department compared to most other "mainstream" disciplines of education at universities. How will academic liberation be achieved through Asian American studies? Is it the liberation of the minds of Asian American women that matters most? Why?

Resources:

Lee, L. (n.d.). Make Your Own Damn Sandwich [Cartoon]. In Angry little girls

Valverde, K., & Dariotis, W. (n.d.). “The Time to Fight is Now”: When Asian American Women in  Academia Go Rogue. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from “The Time to Fight is Now”1 : When Asian American Women in Academia Go Rogue.