Korean International Students (yuhaksaengs) in New York City: A phenomenological study on the US college experiences of Korean international students in relation to privilege, class, and race

This study examines the college experiences of Korean international (KI) students who are currently enrolled in U.S. colleges located in New York City (NYC); it attempts to understand and humanize their personal experiences and struggles in the educational sphere before and during college. Based on previous literature on globalization in education and transnational mobility of international students in the educational landscape, this study uncovers multiple phenomena such as globalization in education and a rise in study abroad in modern Korean society. The in-depth interviews with eight KI students in NYC present nuanced narratives of the participants that reveal both privileges and challenges of the US college experiences: an early exposure to global education before college, accumulation of social and cultural capital through western education, racialization and ethnic categorization in social spaces, and the legal complexities in employment. Through this study, I hope to provide a more comprehensive and balanced portraiture of the US college experiences of KI students

Recording COVID-19: “Escape” an Autobiographical Graphic Novel on Pandemic Experiences

This senior project includes a project statement and an autobiographical graphic novel that documents the author’s personal experience during the pandemic. The purpose of this project is to reflect on the continuing situation of the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, it hopes to provide insights for understanding the drastic changes in the world and to acknowledge the various pandemic experiences. Disease control measures restricted people’s mobility and generated a feeling of separation amongst people. The increasing physical distance between people created greater difficulties to resonate with others. This project argues for reconstructing the coronavirus experience through an autobiographical narrative. The changes in people’s ways of communication and the intensified self-awareness caused by isolation during the pandemic will be analyzed to argue for the advantages of using an autobiographical narrative. The reason for using comics to present the pandemic experience will be elucidated in the project statement. The graphic novel documents the author’s personal experiences during the pandemic through a graphic narrative. Focusing on topics related to identity, education, politics, family, psychological struggles, and other topics, the graphic novel attempts to capture a unique yet engaging pandemic experience

Your Best American Girl: Asian American Sexual Literacies in Family, Schooling, & Media

This dual thesis utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to examine Asian American sexual literacies in the distinct areas of family, schooling, and media using Critical Discourse Analysis to consider the role of power in knowledge and panopticism in normative sexual behaviors. I conceive of sex education in broad strokes as messages and sexual communications absorbed and challenged in different spaces such as the home, the predominantly white school, the liberal arts college, and the Asian/American media landscape. Centering of the voices of Asian American women and gender non-binary people aimed to discern the particular vulnerabilities in being the object of sexual fetish and exoticism. How do these individuals make sense of biculturalism, intergenerational conflict, and intersectional identities to develop sexual agency? I adapted Jean Kim’s Asian American Identity Development (AAID) framework to incorporate sexual identity development concurrently with racial identity. I collected data from eight semi-structured, qualitative interviews with college-age 1.5/second generation Asian American women/gender non-binary people of East Asian descent. Based on interview findings, I conclude with suggestions for sex education curriculum to promote an anti-racist, feminist perspective as well as directions for future research