Georgina Liu ASA 002 A03 Week 4

Georgina Liu

ASA 002 A03

Week 4 Blog

This week’s reading introduces the struggle faced by Asian American women in academia. Universities are gradually turning into financial companies, valuing more on their profit. Faulty members have overwhelming and tedious work, failing to embrace neoliberal educational strategies. Besides, academia holds discrimination and stereotypes towards Asian American women, especially in promotion and tenure. According to “Fight the Tower,” fifty-five percent of female and minority faculty were awarded tenure at USC. In stark contrast to the 91.9 percent success rate among white make junior faculty, all other faculty in the social sciences and humanities observed during this period has a much more modest rate of success of 55.1 percent.” Also, a large number of Asian American faculties in universities develop serious diseases or worsen pre-existing illnesses due to the pressure on academia and hostility in the workplace. As minority people, sometimes they are forced to contribute more than non-minority faculties.

Model minorities and stereotypes push Asian Americans too hard on academia. They are always being imagined as hard-working, high-accomplished, and smart people. As a result, non-minority people will restrict Asian Americans' academic accomplishments, implying that white privilege is still existing and mainstream. However, many Asian Americans are afraid to speak up the injustice they faced in academia. They choose to sacrifice their leisure time, and family, even their health, to fulfill the unreasonable responsibilities in academia. Asian American women are facing mental and physical illness when confronting the margination in academia.

In my opinion, Asian American women need to fight the white-privilege educational system. Their equal right, physical health, and mental health are under serious threats. Stereotypes describe Asian American women as a nonconfrontational population and an easy target. If Asian Americans do not uncover the insidious academic system, including their extra works and pressure given by the white-privilege society, the discrimination and stereotypes they faced in academia will never be solved. Asian Americans deserve a better working environment and higher academic accomplishment.

Question: Why people in different countries treat minority people differently in academia? In Asian counties like China and South Korea, people show their respect for international students and faculty. Foreign faculties even have more benefits than local faculty. But why the minority people in the United States are facing discrimination and stereotypes?

Reference:

Junn, J., & Cross, M.-K. D. (2019). Investigating Discrimination. Fight the Tower. United States: Rutgers University Press

Barylo, W. (2019). White Academics Should Not Shy Away From The Debate on Race. [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/white-academics-should-not-shy-away-debate-race