Smartness as cultural wealth: an AsianCrit counterstory

Abstract

Historically, Asians have been defined by a range of negative and positive images that include the coolie, the deviant, the yellow peril, and the model minority. However, the negative images have been slowly and robustly replaced with ones that portray Asian Americans as high achievers, smart, and a model – especially when compared to other students of color. For many Asian American students, ‘smartness’ as a cultural practice and an imposed attribute has become synonymous with whiteness – impacting their academic, social, cultural, and language identities. Utilizing reflexive ethnography, I share what I name ‘cultural wealth as smartness’ as a Vietnamese refugee student growing up in a predominantly white community and the cultural capital gained and lost as a result. This article provides a counter-narrative to the Asian American experience and the deficit assumptions imposed upon immigrant families in the US.