The Problem With a Compliment: Asians as Mathematical and Racial Subjects

• In Event: 33.078 - Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: 33.078-9 - Schooling and the Racialized Subject

Abstract

Despite its reputation as a “culture-free” domain, mathematics is one of the few academic subjects for which an explicitly racial narrative exists (i.e., “Asians are good at math”). This empirical paper draws on semi-structured interviews (N= 35) with high school students to investigate how this narrative serves to constitute Asians as learners and as racial subjects. Qualitative analysis reveals that racial narratives related to mathematics can both impose undue pressure on Asian learners, and also implicitly position them as abnormal compared with “normal” American students. Realizing the complex ways in which racial narratives facilitate the construction of particular types of Asian identities is critical if educators are to fully appreciate the needs of Asian learners.

Author

• Niral Shah, Michigan State University