Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Academic Agency and the Burden of Perfectionism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Struggles of Identity, Education, and Agency in the Lives of Undocumented Students

  • 695 Accesses

Abstract

In this chapter, I offer my thoughts around academy agency and the burden of perfectionism that undocumented students face. I solidify my argument that undocumented students’ quest to achieve academically simultaneously provides an agentic space to cultivate an empowering self-identity while forcing them to involuntarily perform the role of infallible non-citizen citizen. Drawing from the borderland love ethic framework, I conclude by reconnecting my own personal experiences as once undocumented to now hyperdocumented immigrant to those of the participants, drawing conclusions and posing questions for the reader to ponder. Finally, using undocumented students and my own process as an example, I encourage readers to write themselves into academia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 19.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 27.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • AnzaldĂşa, G. (1987). Borderlands: La frontera – the new mestiza. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chavez, K. (2013). Queer migration politics: Activist rhetoric and coalitional possibilities. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crenshaw, K. W. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darder, A. (2003). Teaching as an act of love: Reflections on Paolo Freire and his contributions to our lives and our work. In A. Darder, M. Baltodano, & R. D. Torres (Eds.), The critical pedagogy reader. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzales, R. (2015). Lives in limbo: Undocumented and coming of age in America. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • hooks, b. (2000). All about love. New York: First Perennial.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Loyola University School of Education, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Aurora Chang

Authors
  1. Aurora Chang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Chang, A. (2018). Academic Agency and the Burden of Perfectionism. In: The Struggles of Identity, Education, and Agency in the Lives of Undocumented Students. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64614-5_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64614-5_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-64613-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64614-5

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation