Topic Abstracts
Topic: “Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration”
In this era of multicultural democracy, the idea of assimilation—that social distance separating immigrants and their children from the mainstream of American society closes overtime—seems outdated. But, as Victor Nee shows in the first systematic treatment of assimilation since the mid-1960’s, it continues to shape the immigrant experience, even though the geography of immigration has shifted from Europe to Asia, Africa, and Latin America . Institutional changes, from civil rights legislation to immigration law, have provided a more favorable environment for nonwhite immigrants and their children than in the past.
Assimilation is still driven, they claim, by the decisions of immigrants and the second generation to improve their social and material circumstances in America . But they show that immigrants, historically and today, have profound changed our mainstream society and culture in the process of becoming Americans.
Surveying a variety of domains-language, socioeconomic attainment, residential patterns, and intermarriage—they demonstrate the continuing importance of assimilation in American life. And they predict that it will blur defined populations, as nonwhites and Hispanics are increasingly incorporated into the mainstream.
By Dr. Victor Nee
Topic: “Trends in the SAT Performance of Asian American and Pacific Islander Students: A National Perspective”
This presentation will provide a comprehensive portrait of the SAT performance trends of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students over the past 11 years. Analyses of College Board and other national data sources will examine the SAT performance of AAPI students as moderated by their self-reported family income and parental education, language use, and school type. AAPI SAT performance trends will also be compared to national trends. The results of these analyses may be used to identify specific AAPI subgroups that may need special educational assistance. This paper will also discuss preliminary analyses of field trial data for the new SAT that will be introduced in March 2005. The performance of AAPI students on a prototype version of the new test will be compared to trends on the current test, and implications of the changes upon the performance of AAPI students will be discussed.
By Dr. Bo Wang, and Ms. Ying Zhou Office of Research and Development, The College Board
Topic: “Changes in Demographic and Social Climate Indicators Among CUNY’s Undergraduate Asian Population”
This presentation will describe the current undergraduate Asian/Asian American population at CUNY and any notable changes in demographics since 1995. The focus will be on comparisons between responses to the 1995 and 2002 student experience surveys, with particular emphasis on measures of social integration and social climate. Shifting demographics will also be discussed, and US Census data will be presented as context for CUNY demographic statistics.
By Dr. Cheryl Littman
Topic: “Current Mental Health Issues of Asian American / Asian Students”
Recent years have seen a marked increase in both the number of students seeking assistance from university counseling services and in the severity of the problems which they present. The Asian student population exhibits the same range of problems as the general student population, however the problems are exacerbrated by additional pressures of acculturation and familial expectations. A sample of case studies illustrate how counseling services continue to adapt and develop new and better means to meet this growing challenge.
By Dr. David Cheng
Topic: “The Asian / Asian American Student Experience at CUNY”
From recent immigrants to American born; from members of the Greek system to leaders in community based organizations; from business to communications majors; from Chinese to Korean to Vietnamese, CUNY is home to a tremendously diverse Asian/Asian American student body.
In recent years, increasing number of Asian/Asian Americans are relying on the City University of New York to achieve their higher educational aspirations. As the City University of New York is transforming itself into a world class institution of access and excellence, the size and diversity of the Asian/Asian American population, language, culture and academic preparation justify a comprehensive and in-depth study of their needs and how the University can better serve them effectively.
This workshop will give voice to just a small sample of the diversity of feelings and experiences of Asian/Asian American students at CUNY. The goal of this workshop is for participants to understand and better address the issues that exist within the diverse Asian/Asian American study body in CUNY.
Facilitated by Dr. Marie Ting
CUNY Student Leaders: Ms. Lauren Lee, Ms. Victoria Ortegas, Ms. Hoi Yee Yim, and Ms. Jierong Zhang
Topic: “Leadership 101 Beyond the Classroom: From Student to Asian American Professional”
Part A. Understanding the Asian American Workforce
The U.S. Asian population is highly educated and quickly growing in number yet many Corporate managers still have misconceptions about the Asian population, and don’t know quite how to promote optimal performance from Asians and other professionals of color.
How are Asian Americans perceived in boardrooms and corporate halls? What are some Asian cultural values, traditions, or norms?
Why do they operate the way they do?
How can managers better develop their Asian employees?
We will explore the perceptions, stereotypes, and demographics of the Asian population, share current trends in the workplace.
Part B. Leadership Development in Today’s Competitive Corporate Climate: A Toolkit for Asian Americans
For a corporation is to be competitive in today’s global marketplace; its workforce must understand the unique needs of people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Many American companies report that their employee population is diverse. Yet, how many of those companies are successful at managing, developing, and retaining a diverse workforce? And how can you navigate effectively in today’s constantly changing corporate structure where there are few Asian role models in senior management ranks?
Once you start working, you need to carve out your own niche and learn an entirely new set of rules for performing well, being recognized, and remaining marketable. Do you know the “unwritten rules” of the American corporate workplace?
While corporations must do their part in developing their diverse
population, as an Asian professional in today’s competitive economy, you should also be doing all you can to proactively manage your own career development.
Sampling of topics covered in workshop includes:
1. How to prepare (while in college) to work in a multicultural corporate setting?
2. Starting your own Asian networking group and mentoring guidelines.
3. How to market yourself internally whether you’re naturally gregarious or painfully shy?
4. Develop your own marketing pitch
5. Developing Career Resiliency
6. How to locate companies who “walk the talk” when developing their minority leaders?
7. Learn quick tips on how to build an effective network, and how to become active in your company’s diversity committee.
By Ms. Jane Hyun
Topic: “Children Order the Racial Disorder: Implications for Educators”
This presentation discusses the shifts in the racial texture of interactional patterns and friendship networks that were evident in a fourth grade classroom in Brooklyn , New York after September 11th. Specifically, this ethnographic research documents the exclusion, harassment and discrimination of South Asian and Indo-Caribbean students through the rubric of racialization and attempts to contextualize the observed patterns through both national and local –level processes of the surrounding neighborhood. Special attention is given to the ways that the children themselves imagine the racial order, and the ways that educators may use this type of information in implementing critical multicultural pedagogies that improve the educational experiences of urban students.
By Ms. Maria Kromidas
Topic: “Beyond Participation and Interaction: The Acculturation of Chinese High School Students”
Cultural awareness plays an important role as it becomes a strategy immigrant students can use when confronted with the challenges of acculturation. Acculturation is a complicated process where immigrant youngsters balance values from the home and school cultures. This presentation will explore findings from a study conducted to identify the beliefs, social interactions, and attitudes that youngsters maintain as they acculturate to life in America . Understanding what factors influence their social adjustment and identity will help us find ways to assist students to realize their fullest potential, participation and contribution to the larger community
By Dr. Virginia M. Tong
Topic: “Managing Conflicts with Asian American Bicultural Lenses”
This interactive workshop will focus on how one’s experience with is conflict affected by being both Asian and American. Attention will be given to the following:
– How to talk about your feelings when you are experiencing conflict
– How to manage conflicts before they get you
– How to use your bicultural knowledge to your advantage
By Dr. Maria Volpe and Ms. Marion Yuen
Topic: “Language and Content: Two-way Acceleration”
Having good language facility is the key to academic and social participation and acculturation for Asian American and Asian students. There are English as a Second Language programs (ESL) in almost every academic institution in the USA . We discuss a pedagogy that is receiving wider and wider attention in higher education. This approach is based on creating a learning community in which participant students can benefit from mutual help for friendship and in study groups. In parallel, instructors integrate their disciplines to enhance learning. In our case, our “block” is Geology 8.2 (Science in Modern Life: Geology), one of ten core courses required for graduation at Brooklyn College, and ESL 15 (Integrated Reading and Writing), an advanced level course for incoming freshman. While each course maintains a portion of independent, non-overlapping syllabus, a large percentage of the materials are handled collaboratively, using the geology materials for language skill practice in reading as decoding and in critical reading, summarizing, library and internet research, and essay writing. Students acknowledge benefits: greater ease in reading, deeper comprehension of course work due to extensive and intensive study in performing the various assignments demanded by both courses. This methodology requires the two instructors to be familiar with each other’s syllabus and the students’ special language needs. The courses are planned together and frequent meetings are held to allow for adjustments.
By Dr. Nehru E. Cherukupalli and Prof. Dorothy Kehl
Topic: “Divided Loyalties: The Psychological Cost of Adhering to the Image of the Model Minority”
This presentation will discuss the conscious and unconscious intrapsychic conflicts experienced by the children of Asian immigrants as they encounter the formidable task of acclimating to mainstream American society while working and living within the Confucian constructs inherent to the structure of their families’ upbringing. Unfortunately, upward mobility by the successive generation has had painful consequences. Ironically, the very stress that parents place on their children to further their citizenship process often makes the younger generation strangers in both worlds by driving a wedge between their traditional values and the contemporary values of American society. In order to complete the immigration process, the younger generation has to succeed by American standards in which they are no longer guided purely by traditions and experiences embodied by their immigrant parents. As the children become more Americanized, their parents recognize them as less Asian.
Intergenerational differences and the younger generation’s identity conflicts will be explored in the context of psychoanalytic theories and teachings of Confucius and his ideological progeny to illustrate the qualitative differences between Western notions of autonomy and selfhood and Eastern notions of “self” that essentially minimize or eliminate the role of an individual as an independent agent. The subsequent generation’s own expressions and insights into what it means to be American and Asian will be used to discuss the manifestations of a unique fusion of identities that make up their variegated experiences and exposure to both cultures. Ultimately, this presentation will address the following paradox of immigrant success: the psychological cost of achieving the American dream.
By Dr. Sung Ha Suh
Topic: “Community Academia Bridge Project, High Tech. Demonstration”
The Asian American / Asian Research Institute (AAARI) of the City University of New York (CUNY) has received a grant from the Verizon Foundation to establish a Community / Academia Hi-Tech Bridge Workshop to help local agencies to develop and enhance their presence within the college student community, to highlight their activities, and to attract volunteers from academia.
The Institute’s Hi-Tech Bridge Workshop is aimed at training student clubs and agency representatives with the basic skills of web design, digital photography, video presentation, and webcasting within two training sessions. The workshop will also provide free access and webhosting at a website established by AAARI specifically designed to showcase activities of, and audio/visual programs produced by student clubs and local agencies to the college communites.
By Mr. Antony Wong, Mr. James Huang, and Mr. Phillip Li
