Remaking Selves, Repositioning Selves, or Remaking Space: An Examination of Asian American College Students' Processes of "Belonging"

Authors

Michelle Samura, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2016

Abstract

"Only a few studies have examined Asian American students’ sense of belonging (Hsia, 1988; Lee & Davis, 2000; Museus & Maramba, 2010). Scholars who study Asian American college students have suggested that Asian Americans are awkwardly positioned as separate from other students of color vis-à-vis the model minority stereotype (Hsia, 1988; Lee & Davis, 2000). Furthermore, Asian Americans often are viewed as overrepresented on college campuses, yet they remain under-served by campus support programs and resources and overlooked by researchers. Many Asian Americans have gained access to higher education, but the ways in which they belong on campuses is unclear. Given their positionality, a focus on Asian American students’ experiences can provide greater insight into the complexities of college student belonging. In this article, I aim to rethink belonging—what it looks like and how students understand it—by examining how Asian American college students navigate and negotiate the campus. Through an understanding of Asian American students’ navigation and negotiation processes, we can gain insight into their processes of belonging."

Comments

This article was originally published in Journal of College Student Development, volume 57, issue 2, in 2016. DOI: 10.1353/csd.2016.0016

Recommended Citation

Samura, M. (2016). Remaking selves, repositioning selves, or remaking space: An examination of Asian American college students’ processes of “belonging”. Journal of College Student Development, 57(2): 135-150. doi: 10.1353/csd.2016.0016

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

Johns Hopkins University Press