{"id":5428,"date":"2021-03-01T20:26:16","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T04:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/the-roar.net\/?p=5428"},"modified":"2021-06-29T11:55:56","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T18:55:56","slug":"how-asian-american-studies-promotes-social-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-roar.net\/?p=5428","title":{"rendered":"How Asian American Studies Promotes Social Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dr. Cindy Huynh, faculty member of the Ethnic Studies Department at SJCC, teaches at a community event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

San Jos\u00e9 City College is proud to introduce the Associate\u2019s Degree in Social Justice: Asian American Studies. One of our newest offerings from one of our most crucial departments, Ethnic Studies<\/a>. It\u2019s also a part of our Associate Degree for Transfer (AD-T) Program, for students who are interested in transferring to a 4-year university. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we\u2019ll look at a few definitions of social justice and why Ethnic Studies (and Asian American Studies in particular) is essential to educational equity, and SJCC\u2019s long-term goals to best serve all students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLooking back I see the importance of taking any ethnic [studies] class because it can teach many students about their background and the important impact their community has made through their race and culture.”<\/p>Kathleen Monteagudo, Ethnic Studies student at SJCC<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is Social Justice?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with some basic principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a 2006 United Nations report<\/a>, \u201cSocial justice may be broadly understood as the fair and compassionate distribution of the fruits of economic growth.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPolicies focusing on health, education and housing are traditionally seen as particularly important for ensuring equality of opportunities,\u201d the UN said, an approach that \u201crelates to the tradition of the social contract and is a critical aspect of social justice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, social justice is closely tied to human rights<\/a>, but many will argue that it goes a step further. Both share the common goal of promoting human dignity, but social justice more often calls out the originators of the world\u2019s inequities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social justice works to reverse the damage that continues to exploit and oppress BIPOC, poor, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ communities, so that we may all live a more fair and humane existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Justice at San Jos\u00e9 City College<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a Bay Area Community College, and a public institution, SJCC plays an important role in the pursuit of social justice in higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This role is highlighted in the Center for Economic and Social Justice\u2019s definition<\/a>. The CESJ states that social justice \u201cguides us in creating those organized human interactions we call institutions,\u201d and it requires that we accept  \u201ca personal responsibility to collaborate with others, at whatever level of the \u2018Common Good\u2019 in which we participate, to design and continually perfect our institutions as tools for personal and social development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social justice is an individual responsibility, but it also falls on institutions like SJCC to lead the resistance against systemic inequities in higher education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethnic Studies in Community Colleges Increases Equity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At SJCC, we don’t take our duty to promote social justice lightly. And we know that ethnic studies must be central in our efforts to do so. Here’s why. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTraditional\u201d History is Euro-Centric and Inherently Racist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Until very recently, most people had never heard the phrase \u201canti-racist education.\u201d But ethnic studies has been pioneering this type of equitable curriculum for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Cindy Huynh, faculty member of the Ethnic Studies Department at SJCC, recalled its grassroots history. \u201cEthnic Studies came out of the 1968 Third World Liberation Front student strike. Coalitions of ethnic student groups, faculty, staff, and community members formed through shared violent colonial histories. They demanded the right to be part of education by calling for full access to resources, institutional representation, and curriculum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we become increasingly aware of the social, cultural, and political importance of ethnic studies, there is growing support for the critical education reform that offers drastically increased access to it. Students, communities, families, and educators are calling on our higher education institutions to make ethnic studies a right, but also a requirement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, the California State University (CSU) system was one of the first to require students<\/a> \u201cto take a three-unit ethnic studies class focusing on Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans or Latinx Americans in order to graduate.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though there is certainly a long road ahead \u2014 requiring all students to complete a class that centers BIPOC communities \u2014 is a triumph. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At SJCC, we firmly agree with Dr. Huynh, who says, \u201cEthnic Studies is<\/em> educational equity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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