| Title | Navigating American Academia Amidst Global Unrest, Or Why We Should Complain More |
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| Contributor | Aizada Arystanbek(author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0508.07 |
| Landing page | http://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0508/chapters/10.11647/obp.0508.07 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Aizada Arystanbek |
| Publisher | Open Book Publishers |
| Published on | 2026-04-29 |
| Long abstract | This chapter examines how the culture of American academia shapes the experiences of migrant scholars from Central Asia, focusing on the tensions between personal grief, political crises, and institutional expectations. It explores how demands for productivity and expertise can exploit scholars’ identities while sidelining their emotional labor, particularly during Kazakhstan’s Bloody January protests. The chapter critiques how neoliberal academic structures prioritize individual achievement over collective well-being, often reducing complex experiences to professional opportunity and reinforcing the marginalization of Global South perspectives within academic discourse. |
| Print length | 12 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
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Aizada Arystanbek is a researcher and educator from Kazakhstan whose work focuses on gender, social movements, and cultural identities. Her writing has appeared in Cambridge Elements, East European Politics, Contemporary Security Policy, openDemocracy, and others. Currently based in New York, Aizada is a Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology at Rutgers University and holds a joint master’s degree in Gender Studies from the Central European University and the University of Oviedo.