Challenging Conventional Assumptions about Ethnic Studies Students describe exceptional academic rigor in courses that also strongly promote belonging

Abstract:

This paper explores Harvard students’ motivations for taking classes focused on Asian American studies, an ethnic studies discipline for which there are a few courses but no comprehensive program at Harvard. I interviewed twelve students enrolled in three Fall 2018 Asian American studies courses on their reasons for enrolling and their conception of the courses’ value in their academic, personal, and political lives, which were often impossible to separate. Interviewees perceived that their Asian American studies classes helped them develop academic and career-related skills, navigate racism, and increase their feelings of belonging at Harvard. Literary and historical content that was rigorous and “relatable” to their own lives contributed to these benefits, as did the presence of Asian American instructors and majority Asian American student bodies. This combination of factors facilitated perception-changing academic discussions in a comfortable environment and ultimately altered many interviewees’ academic pathways and expanded their views of career possibilities, students described. Especially for the Asian American interviewees, AAS classes’ dual effects of promoting feelings of belonging and furthering academic engagement facilitated each other. Most interviewees wished for more investment in ethnic studies.

Notes:

Class of 2021, Concentation: History and Literature