Asian Girls at the Center: Identity, Politics, and Critical Consciousness

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium brings together scholars who have conducted research with, for, and about Asian girls in various educational contexts (K-12 and higher education). The chair and discussant are also leading Asian women researchers specializing in the study of Asian youth. This session draws from the knowledge and epistemologies of Asian scholars and centers the lives of Asian youth within the contexts of their identity construction, critical consciousness development, and resistance to anti-Asian oppression. The panelists draw from critical and feminist frameworks to analyze, theorize, and discuss how Asian girls navigate their experiences with systemic violence. Broadly, this symposium is an exploration into some of the unique ways that Asian girls experience oppression, assert their agency, and seek liberation.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Research on the Education of Asian and Pacific Americans

Chair

• Ji-Yeon O. Jo, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Papers

• Model Minority Myth Busters: The Identity Construction of Punished Asian Girls - Shena Sanchez, University of Alabama; Sun Gu, University of Alabama

• Empowering Youth: How Engagement as Young Activist Interns Develops the Critical Consciousness of Southeast Asian Youth - Lan Quach Kolano, University of North Carolina - Charlotte; Kathryn Wagner, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• To Be Political or Apolitical: Experiences of Asian Girls in College Student Organizations - Woohee Kim, Harvard University; Angel Trazo, University of California - Davis

Discussant

• Xue Lan Rong, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill