Post Week 11 – Nancy Abelmann Essay

By Miggy Cruz

In her essay, Abelmann “discussed in turn (micro-) politics in the academy […] and the social /discursive worlds of students at a large public university” (265) and challenged Max Gluckman’s naiveté concept. From my understanding, she looked at the politics surrounding the way the university system is set up in terms of how it determines what courses should/not be offered. Additionally, she examined the number of Asian American students in classrooms today and how that should influence how Asian American studies should be taught.

I knew little about how classes taught at a university were determined. The elites have such power, that “close minded”  members in an “open system” prevents the certain professors from teaching certain courses because they felt it would be either limiting or redundant. In class, we discussed the Asian Diapora, not how the increase in the number of Asian students would affect the pedagogy of the professors here at UC Davis. For example, an Asian American studies professor would most likely teach a group of Asian Americans differently if the group in his/her class were not Asian Americans merely by the fact that the students may have differing knowledge of the subject matter.

Question: Hypothetically, what would the atmosphere be like in a lecture hall if a professor, who looks nothing like he/she is of Asian descent, were to teach an Asian American Studies course? How receptive would the students be of the information taught to them, and how would the professor modify their teaching style?

Source:

Abelmann, Nancy. “Anthropology, Asian Studies, Asian American Studies: Open Systems, Close Minds” Displacements and Diasporas: Asians in the Americas. Ed. Wanni W. Anderson and Robert G. Lee. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2005. 256-269. Print.

Image: https://cdd.ucdavis.edu/