Conference Agenda

This collaborative autoethnography explores how two transnational doctoral students—one Korean American who immigrated as a child, one Chinese international student—navigate vulnerability as both an inherent condition and a methodological stance within American English Education programs. Through Dialogical Self Theory (DST), we examine how our multiple I-positions engage in continuous dialogue, revealing vulnerability not as weakness but as a pathway to understanding and authentic scholarship.

Our narratives demonstrate how the destabilization of established identities creates productive discomfort that challenges dominant academic paradigms. Ellin’s experience reveals tensions between her Asian identity being simultaneously too visible in predominantly White academic spaces yet pursuing “inappropriate” scholarship within her own ethnic community, where parents dismissed her English Education PhD as wasteful compared to STEM fields. Jing’s narrative explores how her expertise as an ESL instructor in China became delegitimized in American academia, where raciolinguistic ideologies positioned her multilingual competence as deficit despite eight years of successful teaching.

Through multiple cycles of writing, sharing, and dialogical analysis, three themes emerged: living between worlds, challenging knowledge hierarchies, and research as reciprocal exposure. Our findings reveal how vulnerability intensifies for transnational scholars simultaneously navigating cultural translation, linguistic negotiation, and movement between different knowledge systems.

By embracing vulnerability as both lived experience and research approach, we contribute to expanding conceptualizations of who can produce knowledge and how transnational perspectives enrich academic discourse. Our work demonstrates the generative potential of dialogical collaboration, showing what becomes possible when vulnerability is shared rather than managed individually. This presentation speaks directly to DST’s emphasis on positioning, counter-positioning, and the multiplicity of self in globalizing contexts.

Keywords: collaborative autoethnography, vulnerability, transnational doctoral students, I-positions, raciolinguistic ideologies, knowledge hierarchies

This youth-led phenomenological study explores how the omission of Korean American history in U.S. high school curricula shapes identity development and belonging among 1.5 and second-generation Korean American adults. As East Asian American high school researchers, we anticipated extensive units on East Asian American history in our own AP U.S. History courses, only to encounter curricula centered almost exclusively on White Anglo-Saxon perspectives. This prompted our investigation into how curricular exclusion impacts long-term identity formation.

Using Dialogical Self Theory (DST) and narrative inquiry, we conducted semi-structured interviews with six Korean American adults (graduated 1994-2021) who attended predominantly White high schools. Through thematic coding, we identified key I-positions including “I-as-Korean American,” “I-as-American,” “I-as-detached-minority,” and “I-as-outsider” to trace participants’ internal identity negotiations across their educational experiences and into adulthood.

Our findings reveal three critical patterns. First, all participants experienced Eurocentric curricula where Asian American history was limited to oppression narratives (Chinese Exclusion Act, Japanese internment) with no discussion of contributions or contemporary experiences. Second, this omission created a double disconnect—participants felt detached from both their Korean heritage and their American surroundings, placing their identities in limbo. Third, identity shifts occurred from “I-as-Korean American” toward either “I-as-American” (seeking belonging through curriculum alignment) or “I-as-conforming-to-White norms” (actively suppressing Korean identity to assimilate).

Long-term impacts persisted into participants’ adult lives, manifesting as cultural insecurity, perpetuated shame about Korean heritage, and concerns about their own children experiencing similar marginalization. Significantly, all participants now advocate for inclusive curricula, recognizing that representation validates student experiences and fosters cross-cultural understanding. This research demonstrates how curricular erasure creates lasting identity consequences, emphasizing the urgent need for inclusive history education that acknowledges diverse contributions to American society.

Keywords: curricular omission, Korean American identity, Dialogical Self Theory, I-positions, educational marginalization, intergenerational impact

This study explores cultural and social influences affecting East Asian American students’ verbal participation in classroom settings using Dialogical Self Theory (DST) to identify various I-positions. As East Asian American high school researchers, we discovered our own divergent participation patterns—while one researcher regularly contributed in English classes, the others received teacher feedback to “participate more.” This prompted our central question: To what extent do social and cultural factors influence East Asian American students’ classroom participation?

Using a self-reflective approach, we conducted semi-structured Zoom interviews with seven East Asian American students (middle and high school) from schools with varying demographics. Through thematic coding and DST analysis, we identified three key I-positions mediating participation: “I-as-East Asian,” “I-as-fitting in,” and “I-as-competent.” We examined how these positions engage in dialogue to facilitate growth or create conflict.

Our findings reveal three dimensions. First, the significance of “I-as East Asian” depends heavily on school demographics—students in predominantly Asian schools reported minimal cultural influence on participation, while those in predominantly White schools experienced heightened awareness of racial identity affecting engagement. Second, collectivist values embedded in “I-as-fitting in” create pressure to conform, with all seven participants expressing discomfort with being the center of attention. Third, the model minority myth generates “I-as-competent,” where students fear public evaluation and only participate when confident in response correctness.

This youth-led research demonstrates how DST reveals the complex positioning work East Asian American students perform in navigating classroom participation. We conclude with recommendations for educators to create voluntary discussion spaces that value contribution over correctness, dismantling stereotypical expectations that inhibit East Asian American student voice.

Keywords: classroom participation, East Asian American students, I-positions, model minority myth, collectivism, youth-led research

This collaborative autoethnographic study examines how three East Asian American teenagers navigate identity conflicts through their relationships with Large Language Models (LLMs), analyzing how AI creates new I-positions while destabilizing existing cultural and social selves. As youth researchers, we initially considered ourselves mere “users” of AI without emotional attachment, yet our narratives revealed complex relationships shaped by model minority pressures and cultural expectations.

Using Dialogical Self Theory (DST) and vulnerability as theoretical frameworks, we conducted iterative discussions over two weeks, writing personal narratives about our AI experiences and analyzing them through collaborative dialogue. Through Miro whiteboard mapping and thematic analysis, we identified I-positions including “I-as-excellent-East Asian,” “I-as-emotionally-curious,” and “I-as-learner,” examining moments where these positions conflicted during AI interactions.

Our findings reveal three distinct relationship patterns with AI. Justin used AI as a false refuge to maintain his “I-as-excellent-student” position while struggling in competitive physics classes, receiving oversimplified explanations that ultimately exposed his dependency when he failed to explain concepts in class. Lilian experienced AI as an identity splitter, creating a rift between her public “I-as-excellent-East Asian” conforming to cultural stoicism and her private “I-as-emotionally-curious” finding validation through AI conversations. Khloe perceived AI as an external threat, rejecting it entirely to preserve her “I-as-perfect-student” identity formed to combat racism in her predominantly White school, even as peers using AI achieved higher grades.

All three patterns stemmed from model minority constraints requiring East Asians to be naturally brilliant and emotionally resilient. Our turning points involved embracing vulnerability—recognizing struggles, accepting help, and shifting from rigid protective identities toward flexible growth-oriented positions. This youth-led research demonstrates how AI intersects with adolescent identity development, revealing that student AI use often reflects deeper identity negotiations rather than simple academic shortcuts.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, Dialogical Self Theory, East Asian American adolescents, collaborative autoethnography, vulnerability, model minority myth