Mohinee Sharma A02 Week 5

In Shannon Deloso's article, "Precariously Positioned: Asian American Women Students' Negotiating Power in Academia," she discusses the ways in which Asian American women can engage in activism in the higher education setting. Deloso starts off by acknowledging the implicit gender, racial, and ethnic biases that make Asian American woman appear too passive and obedient to engage in activism. One of the methods that Deloso recommends, and that she has engaged in herself, is voicing opinions and advocacy in front of university administration. By doing this, leaders can grow and potentially be at the forefront of movements. Deloso herself was the at the forefront of a fight for funding for Ethnic Studies at SFSU. As a first generation Filipina American college student,  she came to realize that her voice and experiences were especially important in this fight. Moreover, she was able to connect people together to collectively make change.

I believe that Deloso's experience is something that a lot of Asian American women can relate to -- feeling nervous and scared to speak up out of fear that no one will even listen. However, she also brings to light how important it is to speak up about our struggles, because there are so many people out there who share the same experiences. This is how people can collectively come together to fight oppressive forces. This brings me to the question -- how can we build confidence in Asian American women so that they are able to speak up and come together?



References

Fisher, D. (2018). Solving the collective action problem in law. Retrieved from https://www.artificiallawyer.com/2018/03/26/solving-the-collective-action-problem-in-law/


Valverde, K.-L. C., & Dariotis, W. M. (2020). Fight the tower: Asian American women scholars resistance and renewal in the academy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.