If Knowledge is the Key, Then Show Me the Lock: Unlocking the Model Minority Stereotype of Asians in Various Global Contexts

By

The Asian model minority stereotype is like a bikini. What the myth reveals is suggestive, but what it conceals is vital for its use and perpetuation. What is the model minority stereotype and how does its ideology and logic fit within a Black/White racial paradigm? How can a “positive” stereotype of Asians be considered racist? What knowledge is needed for unlocking the model minority stereotype of Asians?

Dr. Hartlep’s talk will focus on the model minority stereotype of Asians in various global contexts. For instance, what does the stereotype look like in China, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United States? His discussion will focus on various aspects of this global stereotype by highlighting research that he has undertaken for several research projects: (1) The “Model Minority Stereotype Project” website, (2) The Model Minority Stereotype: Demystifying Asian American Success (2013), (3) The Model Minority Stereotype Reader: Critical and Challenging Readings for the 21st Century, and (4) Killing the Model Minority Stereotype: Asian American Counter-Stories and Complicity (Forthcoming).

Author Bio

Presented By:

Nicholas D. Hartlep holds the Robert Charles Billings Chair in Education at Berea College where he Chairs the Department of Education Studies. Prior to Berea College, Dr. Hartlep Chaired the Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at Metropolitan State University, an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) in St. Paul, Minnesota. While there he also served as the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Dr. Hartlep has published 22 books, mostly recently What Makes a Star Teacher? Seven Dispositions that Encourage Student Learning (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2019). His book The Neoliberal Agenda and the Student Debt Crisis in U.S. Higher Education, with Lucille L. T. Eckrich and Brandon O. Hensley (2017) was named an Outstanding Book by the Society of Professors of Education. In 2018, the Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) granted Dr. Hartlep the John Saltmarsh Award for Emerging Leaders in Civic Engagement Award. In 2017, Metropolitan State University presented him with both the 2017 Community Engaged Scholarship Award and the President’s Circle of Engagement Award. In 2016, the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee presented him with a Graduate of the Last Decade Award for his prolific writing. In 2015, he received the University Research Initiative Award from Illinois State University and a Distinguished Young Alumni Award from Winona State University.

Dr. Hartlep is currently writing What Can Be Learned from Work Colleges? An Education That Works (SUNY Press). www.nicholashartlep.com