Yi Yang, A01, Week 9

According to the reading "Academic Symbiosis: A Manifesto on Tenure and Promotion in Asian American Studies" written by Wei Ming Dariotis, the author introduces her ideas by using a scene in Star Wars. The friendship between two alien Asian men is touching. They weren't big heroes, but they worked together to combine small efforts into big contributions. This is the importance of friendship and cooperation. The Force they present is about working collectively. In academia, we can also work collectively to reinvent academia based on a commitment to our academic community rather than on the neoliberal individualist model of academic success.

In this reading, she came up with a new concept: academic symbiosis. In my opinion, academic symbiosis is the opposite of academic competition. Academic symbiosis is the establishment of a harmonious academic environment in which people work together to share their ideas and academic achievements. Scholars should see themselves as part of the academic community, not as competitors for scarce resources. Such groups can help and promote each other. If the academic competition will only continue to eliminate or even vicious competition. Only in an environment of academic symbiosis can people give full play to their contributions and produce better works through cooperation and discussion.

Questions: I think proper competition can also promote development.

Picture from https://ducttapemarketing.com/working-collectively/

Reference: 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.