Ann Frechette, the Luce Junior Professor of Asian Studies, published "Sexuality, the Media, and Intercountry Adoption: Recent Changes in China-U.S. Adoption Policy," in Asian Anthropology, volume 3, August 2004.
She was invited to serve, for the third year in a row, on the screening committee for the Social Science Research Council's International Dissertation Field Research (IDRF) program. Frechette also presented a paper, "Cultural Heritage in the China-U.S. Adoption Process: Parental Intentions, Aspirations, and Rationalizations," on a panel on transracial adoption at the Boston Asian Students Intercollegiate Conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in October.
A panel description: Growing up in a non-Asian family, transracial Asian adoptees had varied childhood experiences that range from unconditional love to complete cultural and racial alienation. Unfortunately, the American society often imposes upon them the burden of understanding their dualistic racial, ethnic, and social identity without the benefit of immediate cultural support. While some foster parents gave their adopted kids a bilingual and bi-cultural education, some others decided to completely "Americanize" and "Christianize" the adoptees. Is this acceptable? Who has the right to decide? To what extent does transracial adoption help to bridge cultural differences and to what extent does it reinforce cultural superiority?
