My experiences of identity marginalization motivate my study of racial and sexual minorities. Growing up as a 1.5 generation Korean-American lesbian going back and forth between the white-dominated United States and male-dominated Confucius South Korean society, I struggled with people continuously doubting my abilities and potentials as an individual based on my race, gender, and sexuality. As a sociologist in training, I recognize that the “unfair treatments” I endured as an ethnoracial and sexual minority are part of the larger, complex social mechanisms fueled by power struggles and sociocultural forces. These experiences shape my scholarly identity and interests in culture, race/ethnicity, and sexuality.
I chose to enter the sociology …show more content…
The Race Research Workshop, a weekly professional development workshop led by Dr. Ann Hironaka, brings together students pursuing research in race, ethnicity, and immigration to develop their on-going projects, practice conference presentations, and provide feedback to one another. During my first year in the program, watching more advanced students present their research projects and engaging in various discussions of different projects and methods helped me develop a more sophisticated sociological imagination and refine my own research focus. This year, I will be presenting my project on black LGBTs attitudes toward marriage at the workshop to improve its theoretical and analytical focus and developments with the feedback I receive from peers and faculty members. Another departmental support UCI sociology provides includes small funding and faculty mentorship for student-led reading groups in various research areas. I am currently in the process of developing a reading group in race, ethnicity, and immigration. Through this reading group, I hope to establish a space for students to review current literature, organize an informal workshop, and share experiences or advices advanced students and faculty members have for others in pursuing their research projects and other relevant career …show more content…
My ultimate goal is to obtain a tenure-track position at a public research university where I intend to devise scholarship that will inform scholars of race, ethnicity, and sexuality and the general public about the unique identities and needs of racial and sexual minorities and contribute to empower them. Participation in the American Sociological Association’s Minority Fellowship Program (ASA MFP) would help me achieve this goal with the unique opportunities it offers to develop sharp theoretical and methodological insights and skills for a research career with the support of a dynamic, diverse, and pioneering community of scholars who have benefited from the program previously. Furthermore, the ASA MFP and its community of successful scholars provide valuable resources for me to pursue a research career as a scholar of racial and sexual minority statuses while confronting many social barriers in sociology and academia as well as the larger
I chose to enter the sociology …show more content…
The Race Research Workshop, a weekly professional development workshop led by Dr. Ann Hironaka, brings together students pursuing research in race, ethnicity, and immigration to develop their on-going projects, practice conference presentations, and provide feedback to one another. During my first year in the program, watching more advanced students present their research projects and engaging in various discussions of different projects and methods helped me develop a more sophisticated sociological imagination and refine my own research focus. This year, I will be presenting my project on black LGBTs attitudes toward marriage at the workshop to improve its theoretical and analytical focus and developments with the feedback I receive from peers and faculty members. Another departmental support UCI sociology provides includes small funding and faculty mentorship for student-led reading groups in various research areas. I am currently in the process of developing a reading group in race, ethnicity, and immigration. Through this reading group, I hope to establish a space for students to review current literature, organize an informal workshop, and share experiences or advices advanced students and faculty members have for others in pursuing their research projects and other relevant career …show more content…
My ultimate goal is to obtain a tenure-track position at a public research university where I intend to devise scholarship that will inform scholars of race, ethnicity, and sexuality and the general public about the unique identities and needs of racial and sexual minorities and contribute to empower them. Participation in the American Sociological Association’s Minority Fellowship Program (ASA MFP) would help me achieve this goal with the unique opportunities it offers to develop sharp theoretical and methodological insights and skills for a research career with the support of a dynamic, diverse, and pioneering community of scholars who have benefited from the program previously. Furthermore, the ASA MFP and its community of successful scholars provide valuable resources for me to pursue a research career as a scholar of racial and sexual minority statuses while confronting many social barriers in sociology and academia as well as the larger