Chris Linder

Building Inclusive Pedagogy: Recommendations From a National Study of Students of Color in Higher Education and Student Affairs Graduate Programs

In this study, we share the racialized experiences of 29 students of color in higher education and student affairs graduate programs, focusing specifically on their relationships with faculty, their experiences in classrooms, and the strategies they recommend for inclusion. Participants indicated that they are expected to serve as the racial expert in classrooms and that many faculty fail to effectively facilitate discussions related to race and racism and to intervene in instances of racial microaggressions. Participants convey effective strategies to build racially-inclusive classrooms which include authenticity, vulnerability, and validation.

Counter-stories as representations of the racialized experiences of students of color in higher education and student affairs graduate preparation programs

Abstract In this paper, we employ Critical Race Theory theoretically and methodologically to examine the racialized experiences of students of color in higher education and student affairs (HESA) graduate preparation programs. We employ counter-storytelling as a method for constructing narratives that disrupt the master narrative found within HESA graduate preparation programs, which often boast an espoused commitment to diversity and social justice. Based on a study of 29 graduate students of color in 21 master’s programs across the United States, the counter-stories reflect the endemic nature of racism in graduate education including the classroom, academic program, and campus. Students expressed experiences of tokenization, disappointment, feelings of frustration, anger, and racial battle fatigue. Implications for improving racial climates in graduate education are also shared.

Career and Program Choice of Students of Color in Student Affairs Programs

Student affairs educators have long advocated increasing the racial diversity of student affairs. To improve the recruitment of Students of Color to student affairs, we engaged critical race methodology to examine career and graduate program choice of 29 students of Color in 26 graduate programs. Participants chose careers in student affairs through involvement, mentor influence, and passion for advocacy work; they selected graduate programs based on reputation, proximity to family, and commitment to inclusion.

Exclusionary Feminism: Stories of Undergraduate Women of Color.

Seven activist Women of Color shared experiences of racism in feminist activism and provided strategies for building a more inclusive movement through this narrative study. A history of exclusion in the feminist movement and examples of marginalization provide a context for this study. Critical race feminism and intersectionality theory inform the theoretical framework. Findings include students’ understanding of activism, experiences with marginalization in feminist activism, and strategies for building more inclusive feminist activist movements. Educators and scholars will benefit from the voices of Women of Color activists and gain strategies for building more inclusive campus environments, both inside and outside of activism.

Selfies as postfeminist pedagogy: the production of traditional femininity in the US South

ABSTRACT This article describes a study of selfies posted on Instagram by a group of predominantly white, college women at a large public university in the US South. Selfies are used as data to explore how performances of traditional femininity are legitimated, authorized, and reinscribed through photo-posting practices. The authors argue that these performances circulate a public pedagogy of femininity and contribute to notions of traditional gender roles and physical attractiveness that reinforce classed and raced norms of beauty. The selfies, which idealize the southern lady [McPherson, Tara. 2003. Reconstructing Dixie: Race, Gender, and Nostalgia in the Imagined South. Durham: Duke University Press], characterize a particularly regionalized type of self-promotion in the visual economy facilitated by Instagram. Drawing on theorizations of postfeminism, the authors describe how the hyperfemininity performed in these selfies can be interpreted within the morass of neoliberal discourses that on one hand encourage women’s adoption of traditional gender practices while at the same time discourage the critique of systems that marginalize women.

Institutional Betrayal as a Motivator for Campus Sexual Assault Activism

Institutional betrayal, feelings of treason that occur when an institution fails to prevent or respond appropriately to wrongdoings committed within the context of an institution, contributes to exacerbated trauma for survivors of sexual violence (Smith & Freyd, 2014). Through a qualitative research study, we examine experiences of 10 sexual violence activist-survivors related to institutional betrayal. Participants describe individual, departmental, and systemic institutional betrayal. Additionally, we explore institutional betrayal as a motivator for campus activism and provide implications for student affairs educators striving to prevent and effectively respond to sexual violence on their campuses.

Power-conscious and intersectional approaches to supporting student activists: Considerations for learning and development.

Employing a power-conscious, intersectional framework (Crenshaw, 1991; Dill & Zambrana, 2009), I argue educators must understand power, privilege, and oppression to effectively support and guide learning and development among student activists. Students from minoritized groups, including students of Color, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students, frequently engage in activism because of their experiences with marginalization and face different consequences for their activist engagement than do White, male, cisgender, and heterosexual students. Recommendations for educators striving to support student activists include connecting student activism to student learning and development, developing strategies for managing multiple and conflicting roles on campus, and developing a power-conscious framework for engaging with students.