Interrogating Whiteness in Graduate Education Culture: A Phenomenological Exploration of Southeast Asian American Graduate Student Experiences

<p>The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to understand the role that whiteness has in shaping the graduate education experiences of Southeast Asian American students in the United States. This study explores two research questions. 1) How do Southeast Asian American graduate students describe their graduate education? 2) How do Southeast Asian American graduate students describe concepts of whiteness, if any, throughout their graduate education? According to the experiences from six selfidentifying Southeast Asian American students, their graduate education experiences were described to be racially taxing, unchallenging, and isolating experiences. These findings stemmed from their graduate education experiences, which centered graduate learning spaces and curriculum, interpersonal interactions, and individualized processes related to their specific graduate program and education. With concepts of whiteness (e.g., censorship, model minority myth as either/or thinking, the right to comfort, and power hoarding) penetrating these four areas, implications include but are not limited to: culturally conscious organizational practices to promote inclusion; culturally conscious trainings for faculty and staff; an expansion in research pertaining to Southeast Asian American graduate education experiences and the interrogation of whiteness within organizations.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Year dc:date.available

2022

Author dc:creator

• Sisaket, Lesley Nina

Contributors dc:contributor

• Christine A. Nelson
• Sarah S. Hurtado
• P. Bruce Uhrmacher
• Daniel Baack

• Asian American
• Graduate education
• Higher education
• Organizational culture
• Southeast Asian American
• Whiteness
• Arts and Humanities
• Asian American Studies
• Education
• Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies
• South and Southeast Asian Languages and Societies

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2077

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-3073