ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES FOR THE UNPROGRAMMED: HOW TO BUILD YOUR SHELTER IN THE ACADEMIC STORM

Mai-Linh Hong, Assistant Professor of English, Bucknell University and Co-Chair, Circle for Asian American Literary Studies

Audrey Wu Clark, Associate Professor of English, United States Naval Academy

In this forum, we will discuss vulnerabilities and challenges of AAS scholars working outside AAS programs and/or R1/R2 settings. We invite the EoC community to imagine with us innovative, adaptable, and inclusive structures of care and support beyond “the program” (AAS, Ethnic Studies, or otherwise), using the idiom of shelter to guide us. “Solo” scholars often experience geographic and cultural isolation, hostile work environments (especially if they are “the first” person of a particular identity), harassment and bullying, disproportionate service loads, denial of institutional biases, and other forms of abuse and exploitation. Recognizing that women and gender-nonconforming junior scholars of color are particularly at risk of isolation and abuse in academia, including racialized sexual harassment, we approach this topic from an intersectional feminist perspective. This panel offers tools for recognizing harassment, bullying, and abuse at individual and institutional levels and possible avenues toward management of these problems.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

• Inspired by Christina Sharpe’s idea of care as “shared risk,” we ask Summit attendees to consider: What would it look like for external or program-based institutions (such as existing AAS programs and AAAS/EoC) to bring marginalized or structurally vulnerable members to the center of their agendas?

• How might we redistribute risk and resources to more fully care for all in our communities? What structures of community-based support and mentorship can we adapt in resource-constrained settings?

• How do we create more non-hierarchical spaces in which marginalized scholars can not only survive, but thrive? What possible models could we follow for such support?