Oct 25 talk by Dr. Mei Lan Frame

Join us on Friday, October 25 from 12:00-1:30 PM in ECHA L1-190 for Unpacking “Asian American”: Monoliths, Myths, and the Masking of the Asian-American Experience, a talk by Mei Lan Frame, PhD.

Talk Description: In the last 25 years, the Asian American* population in the United States has increased by 72%, now comprising 7% of the US population. Besides being one of the fastest growing immigrant groups to the US, Asian Americans are also the most ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse racial demographic. Using this diversity as a starting point while
employing a micro-meso-macro framework, we’ll unpack the monolith of “Asian American” to reveal how this categorization hides significant inequalities among individual ethnicities (micro), examine myths and stereotypes that negatively impact Asian Americans, particularly within higher education institutions and specific disciplines (meso), and critically explore the global history and politics hidden in the Asian American experience (macro). We’ll also take a historical look at strategies of resistance against the invisibility associated with “Asian American,” and examine the impact and challenges of US federal funding of Asian American minority-designated higher education institutions in the context of rising anti-DEI sentiment characterizing many US colleges and universities.

*the term Asian American refers to people of Asian ancestry in the United States, regardless of citizenship status, who self-identify or are identified as Asian.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Mei Lan Frame has worked in the field of education for 30 years as a teacher, researcher, consultant, and teacher trainer. She currently works as the AANAPISI (Asian American Native American-born Pacific Islander Serving Institution) program director for Northern Virginia Community College and leads the AAPI Intercultural Center on their Annandale campus. 

Dr. Frame has published articles on Chinese education and gaokao reforms in Comparative Education Review and The International Journal of Education Reforms. She is an active reviewer for the American Sociological Review and Comparative Education Review, and her current research interest centers on institutional analyses of DEI initiatives in Chinese education. Outside of academia, Mei Lan is also a published author of children’s books (Penguin Australia) and playwright.