Bicultural negotiation of South Asian immigrant female faculty in the US academy

• Published in: Diaspora, indigenous and minority education Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 191 - 204
• Main Author: Witenstein, Matthew A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Routledge 01.10.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Academic tenure; Acculturation; Asian Americans; Biculturalism; College Faculty; Colleges & universities; Cultural conflict; Cultural Differences; Cultural values; Culture Conflict; Decision making; Family Work Relationship; Immigrants; Negotiation; Qualitative research; Self Concept; Sex Role; South Asian cultural groups; Teacher Attitudes; Tenure; Women; Women Faculty; United States > US
• DOI: 10.1080/15595692.2020.1740981
• ISSN: 1559-5692

This study acknowledges and contextualizes the work of first-generation immigrant South Asian women faculty by examining how their bicultural negotiation impacts their experience in the U.S. Academy. This qualitative study included 17 tenured or tenure-track faculty from different US regions, and across multiple four-year university types, including liberal arts colleges, public research universities, regional public universities, elite private research universities, and private universities. This study highlighted the unique way South Asian American women negotiate their bicultural existence. It situated the concept of "bicultural negotiation" within a cultural values conflict framework, which is used to explain conflicts South Asian women have when making decisions. The data suggest that it may be prudent to reframe how bicultural negotiation is understood and studied. It may be useful to conceptually examine the notion of hybridity, and how it reflexively fosters bicultural negotiation.