Week 4 Journal_LamKam CHAN

Week 4_

In this week’s reading, Wei Ming Dariotis and Grace J. Yoo’s “Care Work: The Invisible Labor of Asian AmericanWomenin Academia” gave me unique perspectives of how the Asian American studies department acted as a shelter for many professors who experienced injustice in academia, and how female Asian American female faculty took on the role of a “care working” in academia. In the reading, it was mentioned multiple times that female Asian American professors were put into this role for various reasons, which includes their sense of responsibility to take care of students and also many Asian American students find Asian American professors more approachable. I can’t for sure  say that this is always true, but I do agree that due to the fact that many students believe the professors’ experiences and racial backgrounds will resonate better with their challenges, which might include family related issues or struggles coping with the college environment. Meanwhile, I believe that due to all the struggles Asian American professors experienced, they are more likely to resonate with other female professors, both Asian or not. I am aware that female in academia can be a major challenge and they often experience a glass ceiling to their promotions. With the innate nature and society pressure of Asian American professors to act as a mediator, I can see their importance as a counsellor for students and as an ally for other professors. The idea of “allyship” is also reiterated in Melissa-Ann’ s “Pain + Love = Growth” chapter. With references to many stories from foreign professors, various stages of how female professors get through the barriers in academia were explained, in which it included anger and silence. Their “success stories” on the one hand are great lessons for other fellow professors, but also clearly reflect the deeply embedded injustice in our society. 

Chow, Kat. “'Model Minority' Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks.” NPR, NPR, 19 Apr. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/04/19/524571669/model-minority-myth-again-used-as-a-racial-wedge-between-asians-and-blacks.
Skachkova, P. (2007). Academic careers of immigrant women professors in the US. Higher Education, 53(6), 697-738.