Who do you see when you look in the mirror? Photo credit: Unsplash.
For all the writing, analysis, and problem-solving we do on a daily basis in college, I feel that we do not often consider self-reflection as a way to strengthen our research processes or as a kind of research in and of itself. Rarely are we afforded the opportunity to learn and explore directly about ourselves, applying concepts from classes to our life in order to gain a deeper understanding of who we are and what we are passionate about. Assignments that designate space for this type of inquiry encourage us to bring our fullest selves and identities to school. Our academic curiosities are informed by our environments and upbringings, such that reflecting upon our societal backdrops can deepen our connection to our professional interests.
One chance I had to do this type of exploration came recently in my Asian Americans and the Psychology of Race course, taught by the inimitable Dr. Shinhee Han. Our task was to create a three-generation family genogram that would contextualize the psychological impact of immigration, assimilation, language, and identity-formation on our family members. A genogram is a family tree tool often used in therapy to chart facts, characteristics, diagnoses, and really any relevant observations/stories that illuminate the psychological experiences of our family members (for more information, check out: McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., Schellenberger, S. (1999). Genograms:Assessment and intervention, 2nd Edition, NY: Norton. Chapters 2 and 3.). Everyone in the class had family who had experienced immigration within the past three generations.
To accomplish this task, we were asked to conduct interviews with our family and discuss one narrative that emerged. From this process, I discovered two aspects about myself and my motivations to study how race, ethnicity, and immigration interface in the US.
My first lesson was about the interview process, specifically language and translation. I speak only conversation-level Cantonese. My paternal grandparents speak only Cantonese, and my maternal grandparents speak only a specific dialect of Cantonese (Taishanese/Toisanese). I often think about all the untold stories that this language barrier has kept secret. For this paper, my parents helped me translate from their parents; however, I recognize that this indirect manner limited my ability to dig deeper, ask difficult to translate questions, and uncover information that might be displeasing. I cannot ask about things I have no idea exist. Nonetheless, I was grateful for the opportunity to record some of my family’s stories in English and have them remembered for future generations. Constructing my genogram and tracing my family’s story helped me understand how language influences how history is transmitted, remembered, and forgotten.
My other key takeaway revolved around grounding topics learned in class, in reality. Being asked to make connections between amorphous concepts can be challenging. But when you add in your own experiences, these linkages become more clear cut and meaningful. I do not mean that you should center yourself in a narrative of which you have no lived experience, but I mean that studying concepts related to one of your salient identities can help you organize and process your personal experiences. For example, we learned about how language and immigration differences can cause differing value sets and breed miscommunication intergenerationally (e.g. parent to child). For this assignment, I had to interview my family, which requirement gave me a ‘reason’ to converse more candidly with them. After I set this precedent, I both better informed my genogram and also opened up new channels of communication. In other words, this type of self-reflective assignment enabled me to improve both in my personal and professional capacities. I could utilize the topics I learned in class to make better sense of my life.
Ultimately, I enjoy self-reflective assignments because you can contextualize your individual experiences within larger dynamics and collectives, which process can facilitate cross-cultural understanding, empathy, and solidarity. I strongly encourage you to embrace opportunities that can imbue greater meaning into the work you stand behind. I hope that as you develop, you make a conscious effort to reflect on your progress, how far you have come, and what drives your interests.