Songmin Li ASA002 A04 Week9

According to the reading, "Academic Symbiosis: A Manifesto on Tenure and Promotion in Asian American Studies" written by Wei Ming Dariotis, there is a recognization that the current academic situation is far from achieving the goal to eventually rebel against pain, domination, and humiliation, and under this achievement, it is hypothesized that the academic community can ultimately create a supportive rather than oppressive power system as an academic symbiosis.

Based on the author, "academic symbiosis is the antithesis of academic competition, hierarchy, and parasitism. (386)" It means building a well-thought-out and supportive academic community where each of us can bring something to share rather than fighting for scarce resources. It is a dialogue about sharing and support as "minority discourse.(389)"

Under this definition, it is claimed that the intersectionality, which is often used to talk about the oppression of women of color, can also be regarded as the strong power of a university system that values diversity. There is an example that a the leadership style from a women of color could be regarded as supportive instead of dominant, rather than judging Asian-American women unfit to be deans because she is not aggressive. This example easily generally shows that evaluation systems will be common, autonomous and based on individual relevance, rather than generalized and imposed externally. I think it is a really good trend for diversity, and it also protects the right of each person to have a different identity, culture and choice under their own thought. Based on previous reading, I learned about the difficulties and hardships of keeping women of color in the academic environment. They have experienced a lot of "silent abuse", struggle for both themselves and the whole women of color as well. It is our responsibility to "imagine a more just university system with equitable and joyful practices as the new academic norm", and try best to achieve it in reality.

Question: Do college courses need to include lessons on how to be fair and respectful to people from different races, genders and backgrounds?


References:
picture from: https://code.likeagirl.io/tagged/women-in-academia
Valverde, K.-L. C., & Dariotis, W. M., (2020). Fight the tower: Asian American women scholars resistance and renewal in the academy. Rutgers University Press.