Asian Canadians—whether immigrant, international students, naturalized, native-born, or other—are hampered in their exploration and articulation of self by the dearth of critical writing both for them, and by them. Despite the influx of Asian students and their inflated tuition rates to Canadian postsecondary institutions, they are strikingly underrepresented in the literature of the academy. Critical theory focusing on Asian identity, anti-Asian racism, and the Asian-Canadian experience is limited, or presented as an artifact of the past.
Across the globe—but particularly in the English-speaking West—the internationalization of higher education continues its upward trend. 2017 data from the Canadian Bureau for International Education positioned Canada as the fourth-leading destination for international students seeking post-secondary education. The fact that the vast majority of international students at Canadian colleges and universities come from Asia has been well documented in domestic media, but the lived experiences and perspectives of these transnational individuals have not. This edited collection provides much-needed theorizing of Asian-Canadian lived experiences, focusing on such themes as: multiculturalism, diversity, race, culture, agency, education, community activism, citizenship, identity, model minority myths, gender, colonization, neoliberalism, and others.
Contributors include: Sarah Alam, Syed Fahad Ali, Wallis Caldoza, Valerie G. Damasco, Grace Garlow, Allison Lam, Kailan Leung, Juanna Nguyen, Dionisio Nyaga, Jasmine Pham, Vania Soepriatna, Tika Ram Thapa and Rose Ann Torres.
Dr. Rose Ann Torres is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Social Science at the University of New Brunswick Saint John. She has published books and many articles on Asian, African, Indigenous, and Women and Gender studies.
Kailan Leung is an international educator, currently teaching and coordinating service learning initiatives at a K-12 school in Vancouver, BC. He holds a MEd degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, as well as a BA in English Literature from McGill University. His interests include cross-cultural identity formation, Third Culture Kids, and international education.
Vania Soepriatna is an Indonesian international student in Canada. She is currently pursuing an Education Doctorate in Social Justice Education and Comparative, International, and Developmental Education at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Her research so far has focused on diasporic identities within the international student body in higher education institutions.
