The Women's Studies Steering Committee has officially approved the curriculum expansion to include Asian and Asian American scholarship. We are now coordinating with department faculty to finalize the reading lists for next semester. I will monitor the implementation phase to ensure these additions are properly integrated into the core syllabus.
May 1, 2014
Final supporters
To the Women’s Studies Steering Committee:
We the undersigned are writing in hopes of rectifying what we believe to be a gross under-representation of Asian and Asian American women, and their experiences in the Women’s Studies curriculum. We see this under-representation not only in the Women’s Studies program, nor just in the classroom; we feel this is a campus-wide problem following a national trend of Asian erasure.
We believe in the power of academics to shape social conversations and would thus like to challenge the Women’s Studies program to accept the responsibility of initiating this change. As Asian and Asian American women, we do not see our voices in the literature we read. Often, we are forced to accept merely a conversation about race--namely the struggles of Black and Latina women--as enough, though we see nothing about the unique challenges that we face included in that conversation. We believe an intersectional conversation must recognize how oppression differs between racial groups and give voice to all said groups.
We are tired of feeling the weight of the responsibility that falls on us without being given just place and discussion in the classroom. It is unfair to expect us to have a voice around campus without one in classrooms. Currently, there is low participation of Asian and Asian American women in the Women’s Studies program and we are hopeful that these additions will encourage more Asian women to speak out about their own oppressions and have their voices more actively represented on campus.
This problem is one that has been allowed to subsist for too long and this is what we believe must be done:
Inclusion of Asian and Asian American feminist writings, with as many perspectives as possible within reason, in the program’s central curriculum
More discussion between women of different racial groups and solidarity between these groups
Inclusion of Asian women in the Steering Committee
If one is not available, collaboration with Asian and Asian American students
We believe that change initiated by the Women’s Studies department can incite a campus wide shift for greater recognition of Asian feminism and to create a place in which Asians and Asian Americans are allowed to voice the grievances of their own oppressions.
Updates
February 6, 2014
The reach of this petition has reached a level that warrants formal engagement with the Women’s Studies Steering Committee. I have initiated contact with department leadership to finalize a time for a preliminary meeting to present our specific curriculum recommendations.
Reached 100 supporters
February 6, 2014
46 Comments
While i realize this petition cannot encompass too much in scope, I would just like to add that a general awareness that there are other feminisms than the "American" one would be appreciated, not just in terms of intersectionality and race, but also because some of us have grown up on a different continent that was not America and therefore have grown up with a different brand of feminism (and different types of oppressions and privileges). But this particular issue, erasure of Asian and Asian American feminism, is a great place to start.
Demand a more critical, inclusive, and multi-perspective Women's Studies! This problem is not limited to the Intro Course, but Fem Theory, and the disappointing number and diversity of classes offered! The Steering Committee can do it's best to internally adapt and grow, but we must advocate for the President and the College as a whole to support the social multidisciplinaries and not leave us shoved in a corner of the old laundry building!
I've heard so many students calling for this--there is absolutely room in the syllabus.
...Aren't we women as well? Don't our mothers' and our grandmothers' stories matter just as much?
If the goal of a liberal arts education is to gain the ability to view the world through the lenses of a variety of different disciplines, then surely every perspective on an issue should be granted its voice, including Asian perspectives in Women's Studies topics.
!
I hope this is the jumping off point for a fruitful discussion in the Women's Studies Steering Committee
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The Women's Studies Steering Committee has officially approved the curriculum expansion to include Asian and Asian American scholarship. We are now coordinating with department faculty to finalize the reading lists for next semester. I will monitor the implementation phase to ensure these additions are properly integrated into the core syllabus.
May 1, 2014
Final supporters
To the Women’s Studies Steering Committee:
We the undersigned are writing in hopes of rectifying what we believe to be a gross under-representation of Asian and Asian American women, and their experiences in the Women’s Studies curriculum. We see this under-representation not only in the Women’s Studies program, nor just in the classroom; we feel this is a campus-wide problem following a national trend of Asian erasure.
We believe in the power of academics to shape social conversations and would thus like to challenge the Women’s Studies program to accept the responsibility of initiating this change. As Asian and Asian American women, we do not see our voices in the literature we read. Often, we are forced to accept merely a conversation about race--namely the struggles of Black and Latina women--as enough, though we see nothing about the unique challenges that we face included in that conversation. We believe an intersectional conversation must recognize how oppression differs between racial groups and give voice to all said groups.
We are tired of feeling the weight of the responsibility that falls on us without being given just place and discussion in the classroom. It is unfair to expect us to have a voice around campus without one in classrooms. Currently, there is low participation of Asian and Asian American women in the Women’s Studies program and we are hopeful that these additions will encourage more Asian women to speak out about their own oppressions and have their voices more actively represented on campus.
This problem is one that has been allowed to subsist for too long and this is what we believe must be done:
Inclusion of Asian and Asian American feminist writings, with as many perspectives as possible within reason, in the program’s central curriculum
More discussion between women of different racial groups and solidarity between these groups
Inclusion of Asian women in the Steering Committee
If one is not available, collaboration with Asian and Asian American students
We believe that change initiated by the Women’s Studies department can incite a campus wide shift for greater recognition of Asian feminism and to create a place in which Asians and Asian Americans are allowed to voice the grievances of their own oppressions.
Updates
February 6, 2014
The reach of this petition has reached a level that warrants formal engagement with the Women’s Studies Steering Committee. I have initiated contact with department leadership to finalize a time for a preliminary meeting to present our specific curriculum recommendations.
Reached 100 supporters
February 6, 2014
46 Comments
As long as Asian does not end at East Asian and works to equitably include South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander perspective.
While i realize this petition cannot encompass too much in scope, I would just like to add that a general awareness that there are other feminisms than the "American" one would be appreciated, not just in terms of intersectionality and race, but also because some of us have grown up on a different continent that was not America and therefore have grown up with a different brand of feminism (and different types of oppressions and privileges). But this particular issue, erasure of Asian and Asian American feminism, is a great place to start.
Demand a more critical, inclusive, and multi-perspective Women's Studies! This problem is not limited to the Intro Course, but Fem Theory, and the disappointing number and diversity of classes offered! The Steering Committee can do it's best to internally adapt and grow, but we must advocate for the President and the College as a whole to support the social multidisciplinaries and not leave us shoved in a corner of the old laundry building!
I've heard so many students calling for this--there is absolutely room in the syllabus.
...Aren't we women as well? Don't our mothers' and our grandmothers' stories matter just as much?
If the goal of a liberal arts education is to gain the ability to view the world through the lenses of a variety of different disciplines, then surely every perspective on an issue should be granted its voice, including Asian perspectives in Women's Studies topics.
!
I hope this is the jumping off point for a fruitful discussion in the Women's Studies Steering Committee
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As long as Asian does not end at East Asian and works to equitably include South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander perspective.