Exploring the Impact of Dialogic Circles With Asian/Asian American Undergraduates at a Predominantly White University

• In Event: Praxis for Racial Justice: Undergraduates as Activists and Engaged Scholars

Abstract

Recognizing the lack of space for Asian and Asian American students to share our lived experiences at a predominantly white university, this project aimed to create an accessible, healing space for Asian and Asian American students on campus. Meeting bi-weekly throughout a semester, we engaged in a series of activities to reflect on our Asian identities, cultures, and lived experiences. I organized dialogic reflections after each activity to surface our stories as Asians on campus. This space was designed not only to share our struggles as Asians, but also build relationships and center the joy of being Asian and Asian American.
I framed this project through two tenets of critical race theory (CRT) and Asian Critical Race Theory (AsianCrit) (Liu, 2009). The first is (Re)constructive History and Story, Theory, and Praxis (Museus & Iftikar, 2013), specifically applied to Asian and Asian Americans’ lived experiences. The second tenet is resistant capital as a form of community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005). I examined the ways in which not only the sharing of pain, but the sharing of joy, growth, and community can be viewed as a component of resistant capital within AsianCrit.
As the facilitator of this dialogic circle, I drew on practitioner inquiry methodologies (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2004) and participant-observation to examine the experiences of the circles. In addition to gathering field notes of the dialogic circles, I interviewed each participant twice. I analyzed the data in order to understand the following: (a) Participants’ overall experiences during the program, (b) changes in their experiences as Asians/ Asian Americans in a PWI before and after the program, and (c) significance of a space designed specifically for Asians and Asian Americans and the impacts of the space. Data analysis suggests that racial harm to Asians/ Asian Americans on campus is greatly brushed aside by model minority myths. At this university, there is a lack of space for a community for Asian/ Asian American students to express themselves while being understood and affirmed.
While there is existing scholarly significance of affinity spaces in institutional settings, this study suggests the relationship between community-building, healing, and racial justice. In other words, my praxis project illustrates the importance of relationship building within an affinity space – insights and lessons that other institutions, educators, and scholars could draw upon when holding race-based groups and dialogues.

References
Cochran-Smith, M. & Lytle, S. L. (2004). Practitioner inquiry, knowledge, and university culture. In International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (pp. 601-649). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. Chicago
Liu, A. (2009). Critical race theory, Asian Americans, and Higher Education: A review of research. InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies, 5(2).
Museus, S. D. (2013). An Asian Critical Theory (AsianCrit) Framework. In J. Iftikar (Ed.), Asian American Students in Higher Education (pp. 18–29). essay, New York. Routledge.
Yosso, T. J. (2020). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of Community Cultural Wealth. Critical Race Theory in Education, 114–136.

Author

• Chloe Yau, Clark University