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Critical Expressions: Portraitures of Black Women Graduate Students

Johnson, Ahjah Marie
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6344-6534
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1689283848571208

Abstract Details

2023, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Educational Leadership.
Black women in higher education are situated in a hegemonic, white, patriarchal context of academia. Despite staff and faculty attempts to support students utilizing foundational theories of student development, these efforts still reinforce controlling stereotypes of Black women and (re)subjugate them to a tumultuous existence in the academy as “others.” Student development theories traditionally have focused on the experiences of white students, and for the few that are focused on Black women, the attention has been on what their experiences consist of, not how they exist, resist, and persist in the academy. Consequently, student development theories fail to identify models and frameworks that simply support Black women’s existence in academia. This study is a grounded in Womanism, Black Feminist Theory, misogynoir, and the theory of adultification. Specifically, utilizing portraiture methodology to explore the manifestation of Black women graduate student’s formation of Grown Black Woman Voice, a framework which emphasizes Black women’s development of voice, to ultimately construct their own existence in academia. Through a qualitative study with Black women graduate student participants, findings illuminate that voice is contextual and influenced by parents, community, and societal influences. Furthermore, the ways in which voice is expressed relies heavily on authentic expression. Implications from this research suggest a deeper need to unpack the development of voice beyond higher education such as the workplace and k-12 education. Ultimately, the voices of the participants emphasize the continued necessity to center the diversity in expression that Black women hold and engage, as they exist in the academy.
Katherine S. Cho, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Elisa S. Abes, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Christa J. Porter, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Denise Taliaferro Baszile, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Tammy L. Brown, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
206 p.
African Americans; Education; Gender Studies; Higher Education; Womens Studies
Black Women, Graduate Students, Voice, Voicing, Predominantly White Institutions, Authenticity, Authority, Autonomy, Persistence

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Johnson, A. M. (2023). Critical Expressions: Portraitures of Black Women Graduate Students [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1689283848571208

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Johnson, Ahjah. Critical Expressions: Portraitures of Black Women Graduate Students. 2023. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1689283848571208.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Johnson, Ahjah. "Critical Expressions: Portraitures of Black Women Graduate Students." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2023. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1689283848571208

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1689283848571208
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© 2023, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.