Elisa S. Abes

Enduring Influences of Service-Learning on College Students' Identity Development

This constructivist study explored service-learning as a contextual influence on identity development and self-authorship. Analysis of data from interviews with 8 participants, each of whom completed an undergraduate service-learning course 2 to 4 years prior to the study, suggested that an enduring influence of service-learning was construction of a more integrated identity evidenced by complexity in thinking about self and relationships with others, an openness to new ideas and experiences, and shifts in future commitments.

Meaning-Making Capacity and the Dynamics of Lesbian College Students' Multiple Dimensions of Identity

Narrative inquiry methodology was used to investigate self-perceived identities among 10 lesbian college students. Analysis of data from in-depth, open-ended interviews revealed the role of meaning-making capacity in determining the extent to which contextual influences shaped self-perceptions of sexual orientation identity and its relationship with other identity dimensions. Strategies for increasing meaning-making capacity in the context of sexual orientation identity are discussed.

Theoretical Borderlands: Using Multiple Theoretical Perspectives to Challenge Inequitable Power Structures in Student Development Theory

This article is an exploration of possibilities and methodological considerations for using multiple theoretical perspectives in research that challenges inequitable power structures in student development theory. Specifically, I explore methodological considerations when partnering queer theory and constructivism in research on lesbian identity development. Considerations include the dilemma of partnering contradictory theoretical perspectives; the politics of representation; and the personal and professional implications for researchers who partner theoretical perspectives.

Developing Student Understanding of HIV/AIDS Through Community Service-Learning: A Case Study Analysis

This constructivist case study investigated student understanding about HIV/AIDS in the context of a service-learning partnership between a university class and local AIDS service organization. Analysis of data garnered from four organization staff, three teaching staff, and eight undergraduates suggests that interaction with clients and staff caused students to examine how stereotypes shaped their attitudes about people with HIV/AIDS and to rethink their behavioral choices.

Constructivist and Intersectional Interpretations of a Lesbian College Student's Multiple Social Identities.

Constructivism and intersectionality are used to explore one lesbian college student’s multiple identities. These frameworks reveal how meaning-making contributes to power’s influence on identity, while power shapes meaning-making. For this student, lesbian identity is a product of social class, dominant and subordinate norms, and interactions among marginalized and privileged identities.

Applying Queer Theory in Practice with College Students.

ABSTRACT This article analyzes queer representation in contemporary visual media and examines how the episode “Homers Phobia” from Matt Groenings animation series The Simpsons can be used to deconstruct hetero- and homo-sexual codes of behavior, socialization, articulation, representation and visibility. The analysis is contextualized in the interaction between mainstream and independent cinemas, and particularly, the rise of the New Queer Cinema and Television in the 1990s and the representation/exploitation of queer subjectivities in TV sitcoms of that period.

Exploring the Relationship between Sexual Orientation and Religious Identities for Jewish Lesbian College Students

This exploratory study examined how two Jewish lesbian college students perceived the relationship between their religious and sexual orientation identities over a five-year time span. Based on data from a constructivist, longitudinal qualitative study, these womens stories reveal possibilities and challenges associated with making sense of these two identities individually and in relationship to each other during a time of rapid identity development and changing contexts. Suggestions for educational practice are offered.