Unraveling the Model Minority Stereotype

by Lee, Stacey J.

• ISBN13: 9780807749739
• ISBN10: 0807749737
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-04-30
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr

Summary

This book set in motion much-needed interest in the model minority myth as a topic vital to understanding the educational achievement of Asian American youth. In this update to her groundbreaking work, Stacey Lee explores the continuing significance of the model minority stereotype in the wake of legislation that has dramatically altered the landscape of education. In an expanded introduction and conclusion, Lee looks at recent research to uncover the ways in which the larger structures of race and class play out in the lives of Asian American high school students. The text presents the experiences of these students in their own words, providing a uniquely authentic inside perspective on identity and interethnic relations in an American community. This second edition is essential reading for anyone interested in Asian American youth and their experience in U.S. schools

Author Biography

Stacey J. Lee is Professor of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the author of Up Against Whiteness: Race, School, and Immigrant Youth.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Asian Americans: The Model Minority Stereotype and the Rhetoric of a Post-Racial America	p. 1
Asian Americans in the Black and White Discourse on Race	p. 4
The Model Minority Stereotype as a Hegemonic Device	p. 6
Inside Asian America: The Hidden Diversity	p. 12
The Site: Academic High School	p. 17
Notes on Methods, Positionality, and Representation	p. 18
A Note on the Politics of Identity Labels	p. 23
Organization of the Book	p. 24
What's in a Name? Asian American Identities at Academic High School	p. 26
Korean-Identified Students	p. 27
Asian-Identified Students	p. 38
New Wavers: A Culture of Resistance	p. 44
Asian American-Identified Students	p. 51
"We Are All Asians": Asians, New Wavers, and Asian Americans	p. 59
Academic Achievement Among Asian Americans	p. 61
Explanations for Asian American Educational Achievement	p. 61
Achievement Among Asian Americans at Academic High	p. 65
Conclusions	p. 77
Constructing Race Relations	p. 78
Admissions	p. 79
Creating Insiders and Outsiders	p. 84
Teachers' Interpretation of Race as Ethnicity	p. 94
Denying Racial Tensions	p. 96
Student Voices on Race	p. 99
White Students	p. 99
African American Students	p. 104
Asian American Students	p. 108
Interracial Animosity, Coexistence, and Friendship	p. 118
Reflecting Again on the Model Minority	p. 120
Asian American Identities Revisited	p. 121
Final Thoughts on Identity and Responses to Education	p. 135
Issues of Race	p. 136
Final Reflections on the Model Minority Stereotype	p. 141
References	p. 143
Index	p. 155
About the Author	p. 164
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