“I Think It’s Xenophobic”: Toward A New Vision for International Teaching Assistant Policy

• In Event: Debt, Disciple, and Discrimination: Interrogating Inequities Across Higher Education

Abstract

This comparative case study examines institutional implementation of a state law governing “non-native” English speaking international graduate students’ eligibility to serve as teaching assistants at a large research university in the Midwestern United States. The findings indicate that, despite administrators’ commitment to international student recruitment and retention and faculty members’ efforts to create teaching and funding opportunities, this institutionalized linguistic discrimination contributes to a sense of social exclusion among international students and negatively impacts their financial stability and future trajectories. Within the context of political backlash against diversity at the state and national levels, this presentation aims to prompt reflection about how faculty members can disrupt discriminatory language policy and move toward more equitable practices through advocacy and action.

Authors

• Melissa Hauber-Özer, University of Missouri

• Sophia Piral Lee, University of Missouri

• Hsin-I Yueh, University of Missouri

• Kara Starnes, University of Missouri