Going Beyond the (Un)awakened Body: Arts-Based Collaborative Autoethnographic Inquiry of Korean Doctoral Students in the United States

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v12iS2.4345

Keywords:

collective autoethnography, international students, Asian, race

Abstract

Three Korean female doctoral students studying at U.S. higher education institutions address our lived experiences in this paper. By drawing on Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Asian Critical Theory (AsianCrit), we reflected upon the feelings and experiences that we swallowed to survive. We used collaborative autoethnography with artistic methods, such as digital collage and poetry, to share how we have wrestled with feelings of shame when reckoning our embodied knowledge of race and racism. Using CRT and AsianCrit, we disrupted racial stereotypes regarding Asians and their invisibility in racial discourses. We end with suggestions for providing support to Asian international students exploring racialized discourse and positioning themselves as qualified professionals and political agents. In sharing our stories, we hope to illuminate lived experiences that have been neglected, misunderstood, silenced, and forgotten.   

Author Biographies

  • Hyeungok Kang, University of Georgia

    HYEUNGOK KANG, is a PhD candidate in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice at the University of Georgia emphasizing Early Childhood Education. Her research interests included colonial educational research and culturally sustaining education using technology. Email:hyeungok@uga.edu

  • Sung-Ryung Lyu, The Pennsylvania State University

    SUNG RYUNG LYU, PhD, is an assistant professor in School of Education at American University. Her major research interests lie in the area of early childhood education focusing on praxis of critical multicultural education and critical race theory.
    Email: lyu@american.edu

  • Sehyun Yun, George Mason University

    SEHYUN YUN, PhD, is an assistant professor of Elementary Education at Ball State University. Her research interests are mostly focused on the bilingual and biliteracy development of children as well as the professional development of preservice teachers. Particularly, she is interested in how teacher education programs develop preservice teachers’ expertise in fair and equitable assessment for children from diverse cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds. She can be reached via email at sehyun.yun@bsu.edu.

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Published

2022-08-21

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Vol. 12 No. S2 (2022): Special Issue on Lived Experiences in an Era of Unprecedented Uncertainty and Challenges: New Voices from Intersectional Identities

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Research Articles (English)

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Going Beyond the (Un)awakened Body: Arts-Based Collaborative Autoethnographic Inquiry of Korean Doctoral Students in the United States . (2022). Journal of International Students, 12(S2), 88-105. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v12iS2.4345