LOOKING THROUGH THEIR EYES: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY OF ASIAN INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF RACE, RACIALIZATION, RACISM, AND NEO-RACISM AT A HISTORICALLY WHITE INSTITUTION IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

The COVID-19 global pandemic has surfaced glaring racial disparities and multiple epidemics. The exacerbated anti-Asian racism and the reemergence of “yellow peril” and “perpetual foreigner” stereotypes has resulted in many Asian international students’ increased awareness of race and racism. However, for far too long, international student research has extensively focused on acculturation related needs and related stressors whereas their perceptions and experiences related to race, racialization, racism, and neo-racism remain understudied in the field of higher education. Despite the growing body of literature on Asian international students and race, little research has disaggregated data and focused on how ethnic subgroups of Asian international students—East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast international students—perceive and describe their experiences of race, racialization, racism, and neo-racism. Particularly lacking is research on South Asian and Southeast Asian international students’ perceptions and experiences. Furthermore, there is a dearth of research that examined how Asian international students’ perceptions and experiences may change over the course of their time in the United States. This study utilizes a multiple case study methodology and borrows tools from ethnographic methods, which is grounded in EYES theory and neo-racism, to explore and understand Asian international students’ perceptions and experiences of race, racialization, racism, and neo-racism at a large, public, Research-1, land-grant, and flagship Historically White Institution (“Global University”) in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States. Through participant observation and two-rounds of individual interviews, I compared and contrasted three cases of East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast Asian international students’ perceptions and experiences, including five East Asian, six South Asian, and three Southeast Asian international students. The research questions that guided this study were: (1) How do Asian international students perceive and describe their experiences of race, racialization, and of experiencing racism and neo-racism at an HWI? Specifically, how do Asian international students describe how they understand themselves and others regarding race, racialization, racism, and neo-racism? And how do subgroups of Asian international students (EA, SA, and SEA) perceive and describe their perceptions and experiences related to race, racialization, racism and neo-racism? (2) In what ways do Asian international students’ perceptions and experiences of race, racialization, racism, and neo-racism change, if at all, over the course of their time in the United States? Key findings include East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast Asian international students’ similar and divergent perceptions of their racial identity and those of other racial groups, as shaped by their home countries’ contexts, as well as Asian international students’ minimization of the racialization experienced by themselves and others, a colorblind view of racism, more recognition of neo-racism, and shifting perceptions of racism and neo-racism over the course of their time in the United States. While many Asian international students are vulnerable to racism and neo-racism, they also reinforce racial inequities. These findings point to the importance of recognizing the racial identity and racialized experiences of Asian international students and supporting them in navigating and disrupting racial inequities.