Negotiating Power, Developing Trust: Transgressing Race and Status in the Academy

Abstract

Exploring the experiences of African American students engaged in doctoral studies reveals disturbing realities. In this article, we use narrative inquiry to engage in a collaborative project between two White faculty members and three African American graduate students. Transgressive pedagogy provided a conceptual framework for both our initial study and our subsequent reflections on the need to create supportive networks for graduate students of color in the academy. In the project we conversed and reflected about how our understanding of race and status had an impact on our experiences in the academy. Our study contrasted student experiences in environments in which students expressed feeling like “casualties of war” with those in which they expressed feeling like valued colleagues. We found that unspoken assumptions about race and status often created a turbulent climate for the participating African American doctoral students and White faculty members who shared values of inclusivity.

Understanding Race in Doctoral Student Socialization

“…Additionally, the findings of this study are consistent with research that indicates that successful mentoring practices often serve to "demystify" of "deconstruct" the myths associated with the academy (Gasman et al, 2004). Faculty members who employed practices that supported racial identity for African American doctoral students were accessible and willing to discuss the role of race in the student's experience.…”

“…They were asked to describe their perceptions of the academic community and their relationships with members of this academic community including peers, faculty, and administrators. All interviewees mentioned that faculty mentoring and support were critical to promoting their socialization, scholarship, and research, and career development post degree-completion, which is consistent with previous research (Gardner, 2010;Gardner & Barnes, 2007;Gasman et al, 2008;Gasman et al, 2004;Taylor & Antony, 2000;Thompson, 2006;Willie et al, 1991).…”

“…This was especially important when students wanted to discuss ideas about research. This supports Gasman et al's (2004) notion that faculty members should take advantage of informal and impromptu opportunities to talk about their motivations for research when mentoring students of color. Second, faculty members who were willing to share ideas about their research often fostered collaboration with the student or identified other collaborative opportunities.…”

“I Would Want You to Understand It:” Students’ Perspectives on Addressing Race in the Classroom

“…One primary area where tension often arises in the classroom related to race is students' exposure to, knowledge about, and experiences with race-related issues at individual and institutional levels. Scholars frequently cite not only a lack of knowledge, but also the occurrence of inaccurate knowledge, about, for example, racial differences and how institutions privilege and discriminate related to race (Gasman, Gerstl-Pepin, Anderson-Thompkins, Rasheed, & Hathaway, 2004;Harris, 2003;Simpson, 2003).…”

Positioning a Feminist Supervisor in Graduate Supervision

“…Coates et al, 1998;Barata et al, 2005). For example, Gasman et al (2004) explore the experiences of African-American doctoral students from the vantage point of AfricanAmerican experience and observation. The writing team comprises two female and one male African-American students and two white female junior faculty members who are not the students' supervisors.…”