About Justin Chen
Hi everyone! I am a rising Senior at Columbia College majoring in Cognitive Science and Visual Arts. As part of the 2024 Laidlaw cohort, I am deeply interested in the intersections of psychology, social anthropology, and the arts. My first summer specifically focused on understanding the role of forgiveness within Korean American communities.
This second summer, I am working at the Gardens, Libraries, and Museums (GLAM) at the University of Oxford to support with their community engagement team. My work includes creating more accessibility for the elderly and people with disabilities, and also using the archives to spotlight individuals who overcame adversity to promote mental well-being amongst youth.
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Project Outline: Understanding the Act of Forgiveness in Asian-American Communities
For this summer, my research will delve into understanding the construction of forgiveness within Korean American communities by compiling literature and conducting an experimental laboratory study on the impacts of gender, culture, and religion on the concept.
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This sounds amazing, Liam! The Seven Sisters Cliffs have been on my list as well, and seem beautiful to hike up to. I am glad you are exploring nature, photography, and jiu-jitsu while in the UK.
I love this Priyanka! Finding US connections at Oxford and attending talks from professors and academics around the globe is a particularly unique and exciting part of the summer. I am glad you have been engaging with the MHC-TCR interaction through these community events.
This sounds great, Gersely! These conversations and work are certainly crucial. I resonated with struggling to separate work and clients' experiences from personal experiences as a difficult feat. In particular, when having profoundly intimate discussions on lived experiences, but I am glad to hear there is a work community to support one another in helping your clients.
Wow Laila! This sounds like a fantastic LiA opportunity, I particularly resonated with your emphasis on "collective authorship," the power of dreaming, and "reciprocity." As I am also in the UK, I have also noticed how wealth disparities and housing insecurity have continued to shape these regions, especially in more urban centers such as Bristol. The work you are doing is certainly impactful, and I look forward to what you do next!
Hannah! Wow, I am so impressed by the way your research this summer has evolved and shifted to film analysis, especially concerning Chinese Americans (extremely connected to my own identity). I loved the way you were able to intersect your interests within film, history, and gender studies into this project. Great job and I cannot wait to see what you do in the future!
It's often difficult to historicize social trends. This is because often, there isn't a clearly defined point in time where a trend becomes a trend - there may be tipping points and pivotal moments, but it is very rare to be able to immediately point to and identify such trends. Part of my research has involved constructing a timeline of the expansion of civil society organizations such as NGOs and philanthropic trusts. A new idea I've encountered, reached while developing my literature review, is that of the turn of the century being a pivotal point for politics across the world, with implications not only for how governments are structured, but also for the rationales with which we give and donate our money, time, and energy.
The libraries have proved to be a particularly useful resource for me. Before, I'd never had to physically enter the stacks in search of literature on my research topics -- often, I could get away with making a quick Google search and clicking the links nearest to the top. The libraries - both their physical contents and the people in them - have proven to be an especially useful resource in helping me identify crucial literature that I would otherwise not have paid attention to.
Muku! The new idea you have encountered is fascinating I often contemplate the way our governments choose to handle their money, time, and energy, particularly the certain people they are concerned with. I also agree with you that the libraries have been a great physical and digital resource for continuing this research. I am excited to see where your research goes and to understand more about NGOs and philanthropic trusts. Great job!
In understanding and conceptualizing forgiveness I have encountered challenges with contradicting definitions and several studies that do not specify the Asian American demographics they are researching. These issues lead to difficulties in focusing on the Korean American population, as I am unsure if these studies include East, Southeast, and South Asians all under the same categories. Also, taking into account the number of years these people have lived in the United States is crucial. However, beyond the challenges, I have discovered intriguing sources discussing the prevalence of Christianity in Korean Americans that correspond to the significance of forgiveness in these communities. These ideas have continued to shift and shape my research as I acknowledge these limitations and recognize concepts such as religion, and gender may play a role in forgiveness. I have now narrowed the scope of my project to center on health in all aspects concerning acculturation, religion, and forgiveness.
I have found the Columbia Library databases, and my librarian (Kae) extremely useful as I have continued my research. Filtering through countless sources along with searching for academic papers on a topic as broad as forgiveness through both Kae and the library's resources has continued to foster my passion for this topic in newfound ways.
I am planning to write a paper. Up until now, the work that I have completed has largely been catching up with discourse in the field of ethics. Ideally, my contribution will combine two perspectives on ethics. First, I will attempt to discuss normativity from the perspective of naturalism. I will then combine this with a moral theory that emphasizes the importance of identifying exemplars of goodness. I do not believe I will be able to finish the paper by the time my stay on campus ends, so I hope to continue my work throughout the summer until I have a polished piece that I may call my own.
Exemplar naturalism is an ethical framework that is endowed with extraordinary practical facets. Sometimes ethical thought is so abstracted from human action that it is no longer is clear that such thought is worth considering. Contemporary ethics inspired by Aristotelian thought, like the exemplar moral theory I discuss, maintains a groundedness that is not adequately considered by consequentialist or deontic theories. It also seems to describe an intuitively appealing way that we may develop certain traits in ourselves, looking to those we admire.
Sebastian, this work sounds fascinating and I am excited to see how it progresses throughout the summer. Hearing from our discussions with Nox, and these field journal entries, I continue to learn more about Exemplar naturalism through your project. Keep up the great work!