Who We Are: Deaf Asian American Pacific Islander Community College Students in California

• In Event: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Intersectionalities and Perspectives Paper Session

Abstract

This paper explores the experiences of Deaf Asian American Pacific Islander (DAAPI) community college students in California. Grounded in Deaf critical theory (Deaf Crit), the authors use qualitative methods to gather the narratives of DAAPI participants as they navigate through college. Through semi-structured interviews, the participants share their college experience, often mediated by their Deafness, race/ethnicity, class, culture, familial background, and peer relations. Preliminary findings include the importance of parental/familial support, multiple marginalization, language mediation, and resiliency in the face of hardship. This study intends to center the experiential knowledge of DAAPI students and ultimately add to the scarce literature on Deaf people of color, so that education systems can better understand their experiences and serve their needs.

Authors

• Amy Leung, California State University - Sacramento

• Nathan Dutra, California State University - Sacramento