Term

Spring 2019

Capstone

Dissertation

Degree Name

EdD

Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair

Trish Harvey

Secondary Advisor/Reader One

Joyce A. Bell

Peer-Reviewer/Reader Two

Naomi R. Taylor

Abstract

Addressing systemic issues of Whiteness in higher education in the United States is vital for understanding how Whiteness influences the culture and environment of college campuses and within college classrooms. Furthermore, the experiences of those negatively impacted by Whiteness help to explain and provide examples of how Whiteness exists in higher education, and what areas of our college climates need to be addressed and changed in order to provide an equitable environment for all individuals involved in higher education in the United States: students, faculty, staff, etc. This dissertation aims to better understand and more accurately address how Whiteness, the social construction of the White race and social construction and framing of what it means to be White or of White status and privilege, continues to persist and cause barriers in higher education in the United States. To do this, this research uses the narratives and experiences of African American faculty members and students to frame how the status quo still allows individuals to be marginalized and silenced by Whiteness, and comparing those experiences to those of the researcher for this study, in order to provide a means to discuss ways in which scholars, researchers, faculty members, staff members, students, and community advocates can reduce or eliminate the influence Whiteness has in higher education in the United States.

Research Methodology

Interviews, Content Analysis, Autoethnography

Keywords

Whiteness, Race, Racism, Higher Education, Silencing, Meta-Narratives, Counter-Narratives

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

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