The Function of Temporality in University Responses to Anti-Asian Violence

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 10:50 am
  In Roundtable Session: Understanding the Self: The Tensions of Identity, Racial Diversity, and Sociocultural Geopolitics (Table 32)

Abstract

Dominant constructions of time are embedded in the structure of higher education. This includes university rhetoric in response to racial incidents. However, the function of time has yet to be explicitly considered in university rhetoric in response to racial violence. This paper examines how university presidents used temporality in public responses to anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. From analyzing 54 statements, I argue that time functioned in four distinct ways: molding history to fit the modern university narrative; creating a sense of urgency after a critical incident; imagining a future free from racial violence; and remaining silent. The findings illuminate how university rhetoric in response to racial violence invokes temporalities that supports an imagined future to protect white interests.

Author

• Brendon M. Soltis, Michigan State University