Voices of Immigrant Scholars as Outsiders-Within the Academy: Navigating Turbulent Territory

• In Event: Women Scholars of Color in the United States and World: Transcending International Borders in Academia

Abstract

As immigrant scholars of divergent paths, in this paper, Tran and Jean-Marie describe their journey towards the professoriate -- a path paved with contradictions and transformation.
Like other women of color, they experience “multiple marginality” that results in isolation and exclusion (Gibson, 2006; Holmes, Land & Hinton-Hudson, 2007; Singh, Robinson, & Williams-Green, 1995; Turner, 2002). Tran shares her unique experiences as a Vietnamese-American navigating through uncharted territory while simultaneously defying irrational notions, hence, transforming the environment in which she is an outsider-within (Collins, 2002; McDemmond, 1999; Tran, 2014). This duality, characterized by “lived contradiction and ambiguity, are the experiences of many women faculty or faculty of color” (Turner, 2002, p. 74). Additionally, Tran’s study is a personal story of struggle and transformation -- a dynamic and fluid process, which she deems as necessary for success in the academy. She invites readers to go beyond the boundaries of race, gender, identities, and philosophical perspectives—the place of struggle—to help us pave our path toward emancipation together. Similarly, Jean-Marie provides her experiences as a Haitian-born, naturalized American citizen on what it means to be a Caribbean female in and outside the academy. In particular, her experience is centrifugal to the axiom, -“I am because we are, we are because I am” (Press, 2011) that centers on the communal representation of multiple voices, that thrive because of a shared responsibility for that community (Press, 2011). This Afro-centric communal philosophy threaded throughout Jean-Marie’s story enables her to tell her story and pass it along to others with the hope that they can continue the legacy of orientation towards and advocacy of social justice in order to combat systemic and cultural barriers. Moreover, Jean-Marie examines three trajectory points in her lived experiences: marginalization as an immigrant, the development of an affinity towards social justice research and praxis, and the advancement of social justice scholarship in her role a faculty and administrator.

Using auto-ethnographical vignettes (Glesne, 1999) as a narrative approach (Fetterman, 2009) to describe their journey toward the professoriate in the academy, they describe how they cope with the contradictions they encountered as immigrants, come to recognize and embrace these contradictions, and ultimately transform themselves as members of the academy. Implications for members in the academy, particularly those coping with the challenges and contradictions that exist within the academy, are presented. Tran and Jean-Marie’s study captures the essence of this symposium and illustrates meaning -- “how people make sense of their experiences” (Merriam, 1998, p. 19) particular relevant as higher education expands globally.

Authors

• Natalie A. Tran, California State University - Fullerton

• Gaetane Jean-Marie, University of Louisville