Rediscovering the conflict zone: Can the subaltern redefine the theory?

Abstract

By utilizing autoethnography as a research method of a reflective self-examination set within the author’s cultural context and experiential world, this essay elucidates the nuanced positionality of Asians/Asian Americans at the intersection of the model minority myth discourse, colonial narratives, and the black–white binary paradigm of race relations by the employment of Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS). While the recent global movement toward racial awareness pushes us to consider the use of CWS, probing into the positionality of Asians/Asian Americans from the perspective of the aforementioned intersection helps us understand the carefully constructed racial paradigm that sets up the complex of the racial status quo. The paradigm has not only created the precarious space for those whose racial identities do not fit in the binary—inclusive of but not limited to Indigenous people, Asians, Latinx, and multiracial people—but has also polarized whites under the white supremacist system.

Keywords:

• Conflict zone
• Asian CWS
• autoethnography
• model minority myth
• colonial narratives

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

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Notes on contributors

Kako Koshino

Dr. Kako Koshino is a lecturer in the Global Education Center at Chukyo University in Japan. Her research interests are concerned with race, gender and representations in society, Critical Asian Studies, and culturally inclusive and responsive curriculum. Her most recent published article “Reimagining ‘American Culture’: Japanese college students read the world of Chicanxs at the juncture of a paradigm shift” features in International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. She also wrote “Tempted by Whiteness?: Linguistic capital and higher education in Japan” published in the Journal of Educational Foundations.