A reflection written my staff member, Yoo-Jin Kang 

As an Asian-American woman, I’ve always struggled with finding people who look like me in the larger media. You see, May is Asian Pacific Islander month, and regrettably, I am not sure who I can expect to be featured during this month because I am so unfamiliar with Asian historical figures and their contributions.

Growing up in the United States education system, I had always learned about other important figures in our country: white presidents (except our current one!), famous white men who made *amazing* contributions to our society, and the few African-American historical figures who were brought up as part of our history lesson, like Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks, and Harriet Tubman. What I didn’t consciously realize for a long time was the lack of Asian representation, across the board, throughout my entire schooling and life. Why was this the case? Could it be that Asian Americans did not make useful or noteworthy contributions or impact to our society? Could it be that the only famous Asian American that I would ever know about would be figure skater Michelle Kwan?!

Of course not.

I can’t help but think about how the paradox of the minority model stereotype  fits into this lack of representation and recognition. This stereotype can be truly harmful because it can create a silencing and minimizing effect on the contributions, successes, and voices of Asian Americans who are “expected to do well” anyway, and so it’s not such a big deal. Growing up,  I couldn’t help but feel a quiet voice that told me that no matter what I did, I would not get recognition for it as a individual person, but would be praised because:

“Oh, you Asian people are so good at _____” or “have always been great at _______.”

Not only was this isolating for me… it also contributed to this liminal feeling I had of not being considered white, but not being labeled as a “person of color.” It took until college for me to realize that I, too, belong, and that my struggles were also worthy of speaking up about.

When I think about television shows and movies, this is where I feel the most isolated from the people who supposedly “represent” me in the media. Often, if I ever saw a character who looked similar to me, I noticed their role often consisted of stereotypical characteristics that only perpetuated already trivializing cultural beliefs.

Often, we seemed to be lumped with characters that had little personality — characters who seemed to serve one purpose: The math/science whiz. The person at the computer/phone navigating directions, while all the other characters were out kicking bad-guy butt. The repressed and studious best friend. The fetishized “oriental” model (often with chopsticks in her hair). Or the person with the broad “Asian” accent who spoke broken English, often seen working at a Chinese restaurant. Even when there was “representation” of an “Asian” character, I couldn’t relate to them at all.

Moreover, the term “Asian” is so broad. As an ethnic group, “Asian” encompasses so many regions, all with many similarities and differences in culture and values, and I can’t help but think that it’s harmful to lump so many different regions with one word, when we don’t recognize and pay attention to our differences. This May, I plan to learn more about not only my heritage, but also about the different cultures and contributions that make up the pan-Asian community. I hope you will join me and I challenge you to also recognize when a character of color, in any form of media, is being used as a trope rather than a valued person. 

[P.S. I haven’t seen the show yet, but I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews for the new show, “Fresh off the Boat“.                 On one hand, I hear people who love the show because not only are they seeing a family that might look like them, they are also identifying with some of the immigrant and often humorous experiences that are portrayed in the show. On the other hand, I hear about people who highly dislike the show, stating that it fulfills stereotypes about Asian immigrants, specifically with the notion that Jessica Huang (the mother) is a “tiger-mother“. It’s interesting to note that due to the scarcity of representation in our media, we often feel that when we do see people who look like us…we want/ expect them to be perfect. There is a fine balance to be made between respecting and honoring a person’s culture and background, as it influences who they are, and completing erasing a person’s racial identity to make it more accessible for a whiter audience.]

Call for Proposals for Spring 2016 Residential Faculty Research Fellowships

Application Deadline is May 1, 2015

The Dresher Center for the Humanities invites applications for two Residential Faculty Research Fellowships for spring 2016. Funding is intended to support and promote significant humanities research at UMBC. Dresher Center Residential Research Fellows will reside at least one day a week in the Dresher Center and receive release from teaching (up to two course releases) in order to work on a significant humanities research project or the training necessary to embark on such a project. Faculty wishing to develop expertise in a new field or discipline towards a future project are also encouraged to apply. Each fellow will have the use of a private office in the Dresher Center and will be awarded $500 to hire an undergraduate research assistant (junior or senior) for the semester.

Fellows will conduct two research works-in-progress sessions during the semester. The first will be a Fellows and Others session on their research methods held toward the beginning of the semester. The second will be a session in the CURRENTS: Humanities Work Now series on the work that has been accomplished during the semester. The CURRENTS session should take place by late April. Fellows will also participate actively in Dresher Center programs, including attendance at Fellows and Others and CURRENTS sessions, and at least two Humanities Forum events. A short report on fellowship activity will be due to the director within 3 months of completion of the fellowship. Residential faculty fellows will be considered fellows of the Dresher Center for as long as they are on the faculty of UMBC. After their semester in residence they will be expected to serve for a two-year term on the Dresher Center Advisory Board and remain active participants in Dresher Center programs.

The Dresher Center welcomes proposals from all full-time, tenured and tenure-track faculty members pursuing humanities research in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.  Applications are especially encouraged from, but not limited to, full-time faculty with appointments in departments and programs with a humanities focus. Two fellowships are available. Proposals will be reviewed by the Dresher Center Advisory Board, with decisions by mid-July 2014.

Click the link below for a fillable PDF application. Download the application and attach it in an email, along with your proposal, to dreshercenter@umbc.edu.

Dresher Center Faculty Research Fellows Application 

A reflection written by Women’s Center intern, Narges Ershad

It has been more than a month since Oscars has aired, speeches have been given, and many reactions have been shared. But as Pay Equity Day is approaching, I have been thinking a lot about that night, especially Patricia Arquette’s Best Support Actress acceptance speech. In her speech she talked about the gender pay gap, which is a reference to the fact that mostly men get paid more than women for holding the same position at work.

Since I was a kid, watching Oscars was one of my favorite days of the year. Until few years ago I wouldn’t understand the content fully due to language barriers, but I was always amazed by the pretty dresses, exciting faces of the people, the lights, amazing videography, and that huge and amazing stage. Later on I was able to understand the content fully and it was then when I realized Oscars is more than a fancy award ceremony to recognize the achievements within the film industry. The Oscars can also be about social change, a place to raise awareness regarding social issues, a stage for critical thinking and reading between the lines.

I was excited as always with the 2015 Oscars and made sure I had time to travel back to my childhood by watching the ceremony. But something was different in the 2015 Oscars, that made me love this ceremony even more, as well as also think more critically about it. Many amazing speeches  were given regarding social issues and problems that we are dealing with in the world, and most importantly in United States of America. Many moving speeches and performances were given that night, like John Legend and Common’s Glory from the movie Selma.

In my opinion Patricia Arquette speech was a great move, which took a lot of attention toward it in social media right after she left the stage. One part of her speech stated that “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America.” I personally really appreciated her speech and her using her fame to give gender pay gap a platform at an elite event. As an individual who works and cares about the gender pay gap, I really liked the fact that now more people who might have not known about the issue now know. Perhaps from knowing more about the issue these individuals will be able to think about  it more in depth or even make strides to changing the situation for  the better.

Throughout much of the evening, our events of Critical Social Justice 2015 came to mind. Most especially, I was reminded by what they keynote speaker, Franchesca Ramsey, talked about in her keynote titled “Your Powerful Online Voice: Social Media for Social Change.” The Oscars were taking place in a room, but the conversations were also happening in our living rooms and entering various social media platforms. Social media became a tool for change and started many needed, important, and critical conversations. People used their “online voices” via social media, especially Twitter, to bring social change to talk about issues that famous people on stage were talking about in real time. This is where people used their voices to bring light to the speeches, read between the lines, and start a conversation about needed social change. For example many different readings, understanding, and reactions were seen on social media platforms after Patricia Arquette’s speech. People were able to take it in, analyze it, and and talk about it. Some people completely agreed with her, some people wished she would have talked about other communities as well, some people argued that her speech was gender binary, some people liked the specific points that she had. The conversation didn’t end when the Oscars did but they had only just begun. As we are approaching Pay Equity Day I think is important to take a moment, educate ourselves about this issue and see what we can do close the gap.

Last year’s pay equity bake sale! Be sure to stop by the 2015 bake sale on 4/6 from 11am-2pm!

In the past few years Women Involved in Learning and Leadership (WILL) at UMBC have hosted a Pay Equity Bake Sale, to start the conversation on campus. This bake sale is a great start to many critical conversations. Each person who visits the table and would like to purchase a bake good is asked to self identify based on the provided chart , to see how much they need to pay and they can see how much other individuals are going to pay. In other words these prices are link to the gender pay gap that exists in united states. This is a way to get people thinking, to see how much they are getting paid compared to others. Also we understand that the provided chart is gender binary, and is fully accurate but this suggests that more research and thinking is needed in this area.

Moreover one of the reasons for this wage gap, is that mostly women start working with a lower salary compare to men, therefore it is important to learn how to start smart from the beginning. WILL with the help of GWST department, Women’s Center,and the Honors College is providing UMBC students with a workshop called $tart $mart. As someone who has participated at this workshop I highly recommend it. I learned how to negotiate for my salary and ask to receive what I am worth. This workshop will be held on April 15th. Please visit this link for more information and registration as the space is limited.

Also I encourage you all to visit WILL table  Monday April 6th from 11:00AM-2:00PM. Visit this link for more information.

This reflection by Women’s Center Director, Jess Myers, was written for and originally shared on the ACPA’s Standing Committee for Women blog. It has been republished on our site with their permission. For more on ACPA SCW, check out their website.

When the Women’s Center at UMBC at celebrated its 20th anniversary, the staff wanted to make a commemorative quilt. Each student organization and department the Women’s Center partnered with over the years made a square that was patched together into a quilt that was unique to the history of the Women’s Center. We indulged in this practice to honor America’s rich history of quilting and patchwork. For centuries, quilts have told stories and were uniquely linked to their creators, who most often were women. The process of quilting encouraged women to share their stories and build community with other women. This felt like an appropriate nod at history as we celebrated our own. With this experience, I’ve especially enjoyed this year’s Women’s History Month theme of Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives.

As our country has evolved so has the medium for telling our narratives. We now rely on various social media platforms to share our stories as we Instagram brunch with friends, share the latest viral blog on Facebook, and tweet our experiences throughout the day. What was once threaded and woven is now tweeted, liked, and hashtagged. And, while there may not be a beautiful quilt at the end of the day, many student activists of today are nonetheless weaving together an important story that will impact the future of women’s history. This is the story of the campus sexual assault movement happening now on college campuses.

Over the past year, I have been a part of a study with three other student affairs professionals exploring the strategies employed by activists involved in the movement to address sexual violence prevention and response on college campuses. Through observing online forums and the 23 interviews of both current students and recent graduates, a powerful story of activism unfolded. Our findings are rich and extend well beyond our original research question, but as I contemplate this year’s Women’s History Month theme, I am compelled to share the ways in which the participants used social media as a tool to weave together their stories and experiences as a medium to demand change on campuses and within our nation that support survivors of sexual assault and condemn sexual violence within our institutions of higher education. Participants in our study described using social media in several intentional ways, two of which I’ll explore here: to connect with other activists and as a tool for reducing power dynamics present in other spaces.

Sharing Their Stories with Others: Social Media as a Connection to Other Activists

Activists described the power of social media in helping them connect to other survivors and activists which supported a shift in momentum related to addressing sexual violence. By connecting with other activists, their story was no longer one of isolation but one that weaved into a greater context of support and validation. Several participants highlighted the power of solidarity when sexual violence related hashtags trended on Twitter such as Wagatwe Wanjuki’s #survivorprivilege which provided a forum to express their experiences. Moreover, one participant, Lynn*, captured the importance of this solidarity between and among activists from a variety of places. She said,

“There’s just a wonderful solidarity of knowing that you’re not alone… And when you see, as painful as it is to find other people who have been through what you’ve been through, there is an incredible level of empowerment that comes from knowing that somebody else has that experience, and that you’re not crazy.”

Creating New Spaces to Share Their Story: Social Media as a Tool for Reducing Power Dynamics

Closely related to the connection and solidarity activists felt from shared spaces online, some activists also identified the importance of online spaces as environments where power dynamics were reduced allowing their story to be told and heard. Some LGBTQ activists used online space because they did not have to out themselves in face-to-face settings. Other activists identified the importance of using social media as a forum where a variety of perspectives might be shared and validated, especially those that are historically marginalized. Vee, a participant who identifies as a queer woman of color, explained Twitter as community in which “I can breathe a sigh of relief, where I can get the validation I need.” When sexual assault stories highlighted by mainstream media often tell only the narrative of young, cisgnedered white women, the need for this counterspace online becomes even more important in ensuring all voices and stories are woven into the movement. Peter, another participant in our study, highlights this point:

“And if we’re talking about at risk communities, marginalized communities, communities that have been historically marginalized are not welcomed into the same spaces and so to a lot of people the only thing that they have access to and the only way that they are able to participate is through social media because of that anonymity that’s allowed that isn’t allowed for if you put your name to it.”

There is a power in hearing women’s stories. While remembering and recounting tales of our ancestors’ sacrifices and dedication is important, there is also great power in the stories being woven now. The story for these survivors and activists is still a work in progress, but during this Women’s History Month, I celebrate their efforts. Unlike a quilt which must be fully completed for the story to be told, social media is allowing me learn from activists across the country in real-time about their experiences, needs, and challenges. Their stories are already being woven into my practice as a student affairs professional and I am all the better professional for it. This will be a story not only tweeted, blogged, and hashtagged, but one that will be woven into the fabric of our national history.

*Although many survivors in the current campus sexual assault movement are choosing to publicly use their names and identities in their activist work and/or with media outlets our study uses pseudonyms to ensure confidentiality for all of our participants.

A reflection written by Women’s Center intern, Narges Ershad

It has been many years that, in one particular day in the year many people would repeat a sentence to me and other women’s. “ Happy International Women’s Day”!  Throughout the year it has been days and times that people would appreciate me, or we would have critical conversation regarding women’s issues, and see how far we have come. But March 8th was always different.  International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world on March 8th, with each country having its own way of celebrating and recognizing the the freedoms or limitations that exist for women. Many organize marches on the streets of their home town, host round tables and panels about the achievements and limitations that women have to that day, and hold undergrounds celebrations and meetings in the countries that people can’t freely gather and talk about the topic.

A view from inside the UN.

This year during International Women’s Day, I along with many others from around the world, had the privilege of attending the Commission on Status of Women (CSW) conference that was held at the United Nation headquarters in New York City. Over the course of the week and throughout the conference so much came to my mind, so many people and stories inspired me, and I became even more determined about my career goals and role as an activist. As I marched on the streets of NYC with women leaders and activists from around the globe on International Women’s day, talked to leaders, attended panels and meetings, I felt great affirmation in wanting to be involved, do more, and get others involved in the rights for women as well.

Here I am outside the UN for the Commission on the Status of Women conference!

I have always been interested to learn about other countries and ways and which that they are dealing with and addressing issues regarding women in their country. CSW59 was a place to learn and reflect on all I know and always wanted to learn. This is a 2-week long conference that state officials, leaders, researchers, founders and workers of different NGO’s attend each year to tell others about their country’s progress and see what everyone else is doing. It also provides time for leaders to collaborate together on what they can do as a whole to advocate for  gender equality for everyone.  Many sessions were organized around the topic of gender equality and women’s rights. It was a great feeling to see how all these organizers and leaders have made many great changes in their countries and hear what they are still fighting for through their activism. As topics such as female genital mutilation, sexual abuse, child marriage, human trafficking were discussed throughout the sessions, I was challenged to think more deeply and consider what role I play in making the world a better place for all girls and women.

I really enjoyed all the session, but one in particular really stood out to me was one hosted by U.N Women. They introduced a book called Transnational Feminist Movement. This is a great book that explores that transnational feminist movement and “contributions they have made to global knowledge, power and social change over the past half century.” In this session they also emphasized the importance of having everyone and not just women involved in the movement.

This conference inspired critical reflection within me. After this conference now I can look at gender issues with a more global knowledge and lens. I understand more about how we can help one another to build a better world, while respecting one’s place. I understand that this respect sometimes means having to listen and at times follow if we are asked instead of only taking the charge to lead and demand. It is important to remember how far the women’s movement has come, to recognize the progress and to appreciate all those who have helped us along the way. Just as importantly, we must remember that we have a long journey in front of us and we must keep fighting for all women.

Our march throughout New York City