"(Un)seen and (un)heard: the struggle for Asian American ""minority"" recognition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1968-1997"

Lee, Sharon S.

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Description

Title

"(Un)seen and (un)heard: the struggle for Asian American ""minority"" recognition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1968-1997"

Author(s)

Lee, Sharon S.

Issue Date

2010-05-14T20:44:36Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Pak, Yoon K.

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Pak, Yoon K.

Committee Member(s)

• Anderson, James D.
• Cain, Timothy R.
• Osajima, Keith

Department of Study

Educational Policy Studies

Discipline

Educational Policy Studies

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Asian American college students
• higher education minority policies
• campus climate

Abstract

"Are Asian American college students ""minorities""? Using a measure of statistical parity of a student body compared to a state's demographics, Asian Americans have often been excluded from minority student status because they are ""overrepresented."" As a result, universities overlook their need for culturally and racially relevant curricula and support services. Unable to argue that they are underrepresented and depicted as the ""model minority,"" Asian American students have struggled to have their educational needs seen and heard. This dissertation examines the historical development of academic and support services for Asian American students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) from 1968 to 1997. UIUC is home to the largest Asian American Studies program and Asian American cultural center in the Midwest, products of years of activism by Asian American students who challenged university discourses that they were not minorities. By investigating archival and oral evidence, the complex and nuanced experiences of Asian American students are revealed, beyond misperceptions of their seamless integration in predominantly white universities and beyond model minority stereotypes. This study of Asian American students offers a broader concept of ""minority status"" that is currently limited by a statistical focus and a black/ white racial lens."

Graduation Semester

2010-5

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/15537

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2010 Sharon S. Lee

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