Abstract:

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to examine how Asian American college students made sense of themselves as racialized beings during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that saw a drastic increase in anti-Asian hate. We were particularly interested in how emotions that students experienced in response to racism shaped their meaning-making of racial identity. We embraced tensions of a constructivist approach and a grounding in Asian critical theory to gain a more nuanced picture of Asian American college students’ meaning-making of racial identity while also problematizing and critiquing racism. Data collection consisted of three interviews with 14 participants from the Midwest and East Coast of the US. To engage the reader’s imagination and tell a nuanced story, we present findings as a fictional conversation between four individuals using direct quotes from participants. Our findings highlight the importance of considering transnational context when examining Asian American college students’ racial identity development. Our findings further showcase the role emotions played in fostering development and the agentic ways participants responded to these emotions while also underscoring the high price participants paid for the more complex understanding of their racial identity. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

摘要：

这项叙述性调查的目的是研究亚裔美国大学生在 COVID-19 大流行期间如何将自己视为种族化的存在，这一时期反亚裔仇恨急剧增加。我们特别感兴趣的是学生在应对种族主义时所经历的情绪如何影响他们对种族身份的理解。我们接受了建构主义方法和亚洲批判理论基础的张力，以更细致地了解亚裔美国大学生对种族身份的意义建构，同时提出问题和批评种族主义。数据收集包括对来自美国中西部和东海岸的 14 名参与者的 3 次采访。为了激发读者的想象力并讲述一个细致入微的故事，我们使用参与者的直接引用将研究结果呈现为四个人之间的虚构对话。我们的研究结果强调了在研究亚裔美国大学生的种族认同发展时考虑跨国背景的重要性。我们的研究结果进一步展示了情绪在促进发展中所发挥的作用以及参与者对这些情绪做出反应的代理方式，同时也强调了参与者为更复杂地理解自己的种族身份付出的高昂代价。讨论了对未来研究和实践的影响。