Discriminated due to culture & color

[theyellowboots]

I am an International Grad Student here in the US.

Recently, my school has been sending me to my practicum site for practice. However, my supervisor has been making me racially and culturally insensitive comments. Whenever she gives feedback, she usually adds in extra irrelevant sentences such as, "because of your cultural background, you are...", "because you speak several languages, hence English isn't your first language, so..." or "English isn't your first language, so the you need to be careful of your pronunciation, or else people will mishear and test results will be affected."

English IS my first language, except I went to schools that were influenced by British English, but not so much of American English. It is very disheartening to hear someone make assumptions without even finding more about me. Also, I do fake an American accent  so that people will not "mishear" and obtain the best possible test results.

Every time I head off to my practicum site, I prepare myself to receive feedback which includes unnecessary information about my background. In fact, I feel so unwelcome there and I feel that I am not helping the practicum site, but causing more trouble due to my diversity. I am not sure if I should tell my adviser because I do not want the situation to blow up. I only have a month or so left at the site, but these negative comments are getting into me and making me uncertain of my abilities and my future.  Thanks.  

[TakeruK]

I have had similar experiences. I don't look like a native English speaker and I speak with a accent so I don't always sound like a native English speaker either. Although English isn't technically my first language, it is the only language that I am truly fluent in. In an oral presentation class, one instructor suggested that I "refrain from speaking my native language with my friends and speak English more to practice it" (they assumed my native language was something else based on my appearance, but actually few people speak it here).

Although I don't do the same fieldwork as you, the reasoning behind this suggestion is because my English with an accent sounds "juvenile" so that when I present at conferences, I don't sound "professional". Despite this person's best intentions, I got the feeling that they were saying that I should retrain my speech so that I sound more like a white person (i.e. "professional"). 

In my case, this instructor isn't a faculty member in my academic department so I did not have to interact with them much more beyond this unnecessary and incorrect feedback. However, in your case, it sounds like you have being much more seriously affected by this person's insensitive behaviour. Do you have a support system in your school to talk to? For example, is there a Diversity Office, or the Graduate Office that can help you fix the uncomfortable situation? I guess this might be harder in your case because the person making these remarks is off-campus and probably not affiliated with the school in any way. But your school and program is still sending you to that site, so they should have some responsibility to ensure their students are going to a safe and hospitable work environment. (If this person was a faculty or staff member on my campus, our Graduate Office would have a talk with this person to ensure they understand what they are saying is not appropriate and creating a bad environment).

I'm not saying that you have to do this / take any action. But I want to affirm that what you are feeling is legitimate and this person should not be saying these things to you. If you want to or feel that you need to, seek help from your school.

[BeakerBreaker]

Given what is going on in the news, they should be very sensitive to your concerns should you bring them up

It can be hard to deal with ignorant people, but I think in the world of academia, they aren't TOO common. I'm white skinned, I've spent my entire life in the U.S. (no accent), but because I have a foreign name I have some odd interactions with people. For example, I took two semesters of calculus with the same professor my freshman year, and at the end of the year, she asked me (along with all of the international students) 'where I'm from.' 

Ironically, a lot of these people think that they are being ultra-culturally-sensitive by making these assumptions and judgments about you, giving you special treatment, and so on. Some of them just don't know better, while others are malicious.

My personal approach would be to make sure your supervisor understands that English is your first language, and that you are doing just fine with that. If they don't change how they interact with you, I'd probably wait out the rest of the month and then talk to the adviser at the end, because I don't like rocking the boat too much. You may be irritated enough to do something sooner rather than later though.

 

[wrighna]

I'm sorry this is happening, it sounds really frustrating and invalidating. 

We discussed this topic a bit in the 4th episode of the Graduates Anonymous podcast: https://gradanon.fireside.fm/4

Hopefully that helps a bit! 

[fuzzylogician]

@wrighna, you are reviving a two-year-old post just to advertise your podcast. We've been lenient in letting you advertise here, partly against the board rules, but please don't abuse our good will. 

[wrighna]

@fuzzylogician Oh, apologies! I didn't realize that was a violation. I won't do so again!!! Thanks for facilitating the forum.  

[Adelaide9216]

This must be so frustrating. I don't know what else to say. Sounds like real micro-agressions to me.

 

 

EDIT : Oh, did not realize this was an older thread.

Edited April 30, 2017 by Adelaide9216

[wrighna]

Yeah, I don't know how reviving old threads works, but I feel like mis-matches between mentors and mentees based on culture could be an important thing to discuss. I have a friend who is really having a hard time because of this (slightly different situation, not an international student) and is HEAVILY considering transferring because of it.

[fuzzylogician]

48 minutes ago, wrighna said:

Yeah, I don't know how reviving old threads works, but I feel like mis-matches between mentors and mentees based on culture could be an important thing to discuss.

Any kind of serious mismatch between advisor and advisee are important to discuss, culture being one of them. Incompatible work styles, expectations from advising, criticism giving/taking, methodological orientation, even expectations concerning number of work hours and which ones the student should spend in the office/lab can cause serious unhappiness on the student's part. It's important to make sure that these compatibility issues are discussed and worked out early on, otherwise this could easily lead to a crisis. It's not enough to have research topic compatibility -- there are actual human beings involved and like in any other case, just because on paper you share interests with someone doesn't mean that in reality you're going to get along with them. 

[ThousandsHardships]

Personally, I've got nothing against reviving old threads. Old topics can still be relevant, and people are constantly searching these forums for existing threads that respond to their questions and/or concerns. 

Anyway, I hope the original poster and anyone who encounters the aforementioned issue has managed to make it understood that English is your native and/or best language. As a 1.5 generation kid myself (with an American accent but still), I can imagine how frustrating it must be to have your English questioned! People do, however, make these mistakes due to pure ignorance and a misinformed attempt to be culturally sensitive. So don't ignore them assuming they know what they're doing and are just being a**holes on purpose. Tell them that you find these comments unnecessary, that English is your best language, and that they are basing their judgments off of hurtful and untrue assumptions that they derived from your appearance alone. Offer to find a solution together if they didn't intend any harm, if you might still work together in the future, or if you just want to end on not-too-bad terms. You don't have to deal with them again if you don't want to, but I'd like these people to have learned from the experience. They should know that it's not okay to make these assumptions and that these comments can be debilitatingly oppressive to their recipient. And then if they decide that they don't want to correct themselves, then too bad for them.

[fuzzylogician]

41 minutes ago, ThousandsHardships said:

Personally, I've got nothing against reviving old threads. Old topics can still be relevant, and people are constantly searching these forums for existing threads that respond to their questions and/or concerns. 

Reviving old threads to follow up on questions or point out good advice is fine. My comment was about reviving an old thread for pure publicity purposes, which is both against forum policy and annoying, because often it means posters who aren't paying enough attention might waste their time trying to help someone who's long gone. General discussions are different, of course, and can develop in any thread. 

For your advice, I kind of wonder if it should always be up to the wronged party to correct others. I'm usually very careful in what I choose to "fight" over, because often it's not worth the energy. I'll take things up with people I work with or have otherwise frequent interactions with, but I don't think it always needs to be my job to educate others. 

[ThousandsHardships]

7 minutes ago, fuzzylogician said:

For your advice, I kind of wonder if it should always be up to the wronged party to correct others. I'm usually very careful in what I choose to "fight" over, because often it's not worth the energy. I'll take things up with people I work with or have otherwise frequent interactions with, but I don't think it always needs to be my job to educate others. 

I'm not sure "fight" is the word I would use, and I didn't say it needs to be anyone's job. It's just that it's annoying the kinds of assumptions people make (I know that they don't always intend it and somehow that makes it even worse) and I wish they could just swallow a pill that could cure them of ignorance. If they're smart, telling them the truth should be enough to make them realize that what they've been assuming is wrong. It doesn't take any energy to say it, and it could help clear up any misunderstandings and make both parties feel better.

[wrighna]

 @fuzzylogicianTotally understood, re: reviving old threads for the wrong reasons. 

I don't feel super comfortable sharing the details of my friend's situation, but it's definitely something I'm struggling to support him through. I tried writing it out a bunch of different ways but it keeps getting too identifiable. 

I guess a more generalized version of the question is: What would you suggest someone do if they don't fit with their mentor on many of the factors you listed AND there are rumors of the person having a bad track record around diversity before you came to the department? The even harder additional bit is having an 80% sure offer to transfer to another program... 

[fuzzylogician]

11 minutes ago, wrighna said:

I guess a more generalized version of the question is: What would you suggest someone do if they don't fit with their mentor on many of the factors you listed AND there are rumors of the person having a bad track record around diversity before you came to the department? The even harder additional bit is having an 80% sure offer to transfer to another program... 

Regardless of rumors and anything else, I think that fit with one's advisor is the best predictor of success in a PhD program. Bad fit leads to all kinds of problems; it could be because of research or personality, through no fault of any one party, or it could be that someone is actually racist/misogynist/etc.

My main piece of advice is this: don't expect anyone to change for you. Just like in any other relationship, you either accept the other person with their flaws and you learn to live with them, or you leave. Don't expect your advisor to somehow become a different person for you. They might try, if they are a good person, and there's flexibility especially with young professors who are still figuring out who they are as advisors. There's definitely place for bringing up things that make you unhappy, especially if you also have concrete suggestions for what can change to fix it. But at the end of the day a person is who s/he is; someone who's very hands-on will have a hard time letting go, and someone who has methodological bent A may or may not be able to accommodate students who work with competing theory B. If things aren't working and you don't see a productive way to fix them, *in collaboration with the advisor*, then I personally think that the best thing to do is find support from someone else who's a better fit. The particular arrangement might depend on the specifics of the case (switch advisors/labs, add a second advisor from within the department or an external person, turn to one's committee and count less on the one advisor, transfer, etc). I also think it's better to have someone who's less of a close fit in terms of research, but a better fit in terms of personality. Someone who you get along with and is open to new and different ideas is much better than the expert who makes you hate your life. Bottom line: communication is key; a good advisor is one who wants what's best for you. 

[wrighna]

2 minutes ago, fuzzylogician said:

I also think it's better to have someone who's less of a close fit in terms of research, but a better fit in terms of personality. Someone who you get along with and is open to new and different ideas is much better than the expert who makes you hate your life. 

Sigh, they should tell people that when they are choosing schools.  Our department is TINY, so pivoting or adding another advisor isn't really an option. My friend is basically trying to get the heck out of dodge if this other school will take him. It's a bummer, though because he'll have to start over, essentially.  

 

[fuzzylogician]

6 minutes ago, wrighna said:

Sigh, they should tell people that when they are choosing schools.  Our department is TINY, so pivoting or adding another advisor isn't really an option. My friend is basically trying to get the heck out of dodge if this other school will take him. It's a bummer, though because he'll have to start over, essentially.  

That's always the danger with small programs or subfields. If you go to a department with one or two potential advisors, there's always the risk that something could go wrong. It could be a bad fit, or just that the person gets sick or is denied tenure or takes another job, and you're screwed. 

Independently -- yes. Fit, fit, fit. It's so important. 

As for your friend, it doesn't sound like there is any perfect solution. There's a question of how far along they are. Also, if there's a chance of e.g. doing a semester/year as a visitor somewhere else, and maybe doing the actual dissertation writing off-campus, in a place where they're happier. In other words, there's a question of how bad the relationship is and how much time your friend will have to maintain it. It might be worth starting over for their own sanity. Also keep in mind that if your friend wants an academic career, they won't be able to cut off all ties with their advisor once they graduate. They'll need the connections and recommendations that the advisor has to offer. Without the support of the advisor, getting a job will be very hard. 

[wrighna]

1 minute ago, fuzzylogician said:

if your friend wants an academic career, they won't be able to cut off all ties with their advisor once they graduate. They'll need the connections and recommendations that the advisor has to offer. Without the support of the advisor, getting a job will be very hard. 

Yeahhhhhhhh. Ugh. Thanks for all those thoughts though, these will be bumping around in my head at our next support/commiserate sesh. 

[ThousandsHardships]

6 hours ago, wrighna said:

Sigh, they should tell people that when they are choosing schools.  Our department is TINY, so pivoting or adding another advisor isn't really an option. My friend is basically trying to get the heck out of dodge if this other school will take him. It's a bummer, though because he'll have to start over, essentially.  

He could also consider switching departments/programs, if there's another program on campus that is close enough that they might be able to perform the same or similar types of research and use a lot of the same classes, he could resolve the situation without moving to another school and starting over completely anew. During my master's, I've known or heard of people who've transferred from French linguistics (in the French graduate program) to linguistics or to education, and their research focus basically remained the same but they got to work with an adviser that was a better fit and a department that didn't make them hate themselves. If your research touches on a specific subfield that's also present in another major field, then that's always a possibility. For instance, students in a neuroscience graduate program could switch to biochemistry, biopsychology, cognitive science, human physiology, just to name a few, and still keep the same focus. Similarly, students in a foreign literature or in an English graduate program could easily switch to comparative literature.

Edited May 4, 2017 by ThousandsHardships