1st Edition

"Strangers" of the Academy Asian Women Scholars in Higher Education

Edited By Guofang Li, Gulbahar H. Beckett Copyright 2005

    No less than other minorities, Asian women scholars are confronted with racial discrimination and stereotyping as well as disrespect for their research, teaching, and leadership, and are underrepresented in academia. In the face of such barriers, many Asian female scholars have developed strategies to survive and thrive. This book is among the first to examine their lived experience in Western academic discourses. It addresses the socio-cultural, political, academic, and personal issues that Asian female scholars encounter in higher education. The contributors to this book include first- and second-generation immigrants who are teachers and researchers in higher education and who come from a wide range of Asian nations and backgrounds. They here combine new research and personal narratives to explore the intersecting layers of relationships that impact their lives—language, culture, academic discourses, gender, class, generation, and race. The book is replete with the richness and complexity of these scholars’ struggles and triumphs in their professional and personal realms.This powerful and engaging volume:* Examines and celebrates the struggles and triumphs that Asian female scholars experience as they try to “make it” in academic environments that may differ sharply from the culture of their countries of origin; * Highlights the unique contributions the authors have made to research, theory, and the profession;* Establishes the authors’ claim to visibility and a voice for themselves and more generally for Asian women in the academy; * Opens a dialogue on these critical issues by sharing the academic and personal experiences of senior and junior scholars alike; and * Contributes to the on-going discussion on issues pertinent to the status of minority female scholars in higher education.

    Foreword--Shirley Geok-Lin Lim, UC Santa Barbara and University of Hong Kong; Acknowledgements; Introduction. Asian Female Scholars’ New Stories of Self. Re-constructing Culture and Identity in the Academy—Guofang Li, SUNY at Buffalo, and Gulbahar Beckett, University of Cincinnati; PART I. ASIAN FEMALE SCHOLARS IN CONTEXT. 1. Asian Pacific American Women and Men in Higher Education. The Contested Spaces of Their Participation, Persistence, and Challenges as Students, Faculty, and Administrators—Shirley Hune, UCLA; 2. Asian Male vs. Female College Students’ Career Paths. Interaction of Gender and Race—Jaekyung Lee, SUNY at Buffalo; 3. Asian Women Faculty of Color. Theorizing Our Lived Experiences—Angel Lin, City University of Hong Kong, Ryuko Kubota, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Su Motha, University of Maryland, Wendy Wang, Eastern Michigan State University and Shelley Wong, George Mason University; PART II. TEACHING, MENTORING, ADVISING, AND SECURING TENURE. 4. Professing in a Non-Native Tongue. Narratives of Three Chinese-Speaking Women Faculty—Xiaoping Liang, California State University, Long Beach; 5. Mentors and Role Models. My Story of Being an Asian Female Faculty—Keiko Komiya Samimy, The Ohio State University; 6. Navigating Multiple Roles and Multiple Discourses. A Young Asian Female Scholar’s Reflection on Supervising and Teaching Fellow Asian Students—Guofang Li, SUNY at Buffalo; 7. Asian Women Warriors of the Academia. Struggles and Strategies for Promotion—Chalsa Loo, National Center for PTSD, Honolulu, and Hsiu Zu Ho, UC Santa Barbara; PART III. GAINING VOICE, FORMING IDENTITY. 8. Brown in Black-and-White. On Being a South Asian Woman Academic—Nina Asher, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; 9. Unmasking the Self. Struggling with Model Minority Stereotype and Lotus Blossom Image—Eunai Shrake, California State University, Northridge; 10. Within the Safe Haven of “Women’s Studies”. A Thai Female Faculty’s Reflection on Identity and Scholarship—Piya Pangsapa, SUNY at Buffalo; 11. Between the Worlds. Searching for a Competent Voice—Yan Guo, University of Calgary, Canada; 12. Modesty, Moderation, Passion, and Chutzpah. A Chinese-American Medical Professor Speaks—Gulbahar H. Beckett and Jianhua Zhang, University of Cincinnati; PART IV. BUILDING BRIDGES, BUILDING FUTURE. 13. The Road Less Traveled. An Asian Woman Immigrant Faculty’s Journey Integrating Global Pedagogy into Teacher Education—Guichun Zong, Georgia State University; 14. From Mentorship to Friendship, Collaboration, and Collegiality—Xue Lan Rong, School of Education, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Judith Preissle, College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens; 15. Building Bridges, Working For A Better World—Jing Lin, University of Maryland; Editor and Contributor Biographies.

    Biography

    Guofang Li is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Education, University of Buffalo (SUNY). Gulbahar H. Beckett is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education, University of Cincinnati.

    "The emergence of the recently published book, represents a breakthrough for many Asian women scholars who seek to share their professional insights and experiences in the academy."

    Journal of the Professoriate

    "delves into the sociocultural, political, academic and personal issues that Asian female scholars frequently encounter in higher education"

    Diverse Issues in Higher Education

    "This is a highly informative text that will benefit individuals who have ever worked with, been taught by, or will have any interaction with Asian female faculty.This book raises our awareness of the work that still needs to be done and is a highly recommended resource for Asians and non-Asians alike.

    "The book serves as a valuable resource for faculty who are among the few Asian females who have successfully navigated through the challenges posed by academe. I found the book to be truly empowering. It not only validated my own personal experiences, but also reminded me of why I continue to pursue my scholarly work, and of my unique contributions, which are because of, rather than despite, my Asian female identity."

    Journal of College Student Development