Intersectionality and Higher Education

Identity and Inequality on College Campuses

Edited by W. Carson Byrd, Rachelle J. Brunn-Bevel, and Sarah M. Ovink

Rutgers University Press

Though colleges and universities are arguably paying more attention to diversity and inclusion than ever before, to what extent do their efforts result in more socially just campuses? Intersectionality and Higher Education examines how race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, age, disability, nationality, and other identities connect to produce intersected campus experiences. Contributors look at both the individual and institutional perspectives on issues like campus climate, race, class, and gender disparities, LGBTQ student experiences, undergraduate versus graduate students, faculty and staff from varying socioeconomic backgrounds, students with disabilities, undocumented students, and the intersections of two or more of these topics. Taken together, this volume presents an evidence-backed vision of how the twenty-first century higher education landscape should evolve in order to meaningfully support all participants, reduce marginalization, and reach for equity and equality.

Accessible and engaging, Intersectionality and Higher Education will have a great impact on the field. This is a meaningful and powerful book. Robin J Phelps-Ward, assistant professor at Clemson University

This sophisticated and comprehensive treatment of the intersectional identities of students, faculty, and staff experienced within structures of inequality is a must read for all who care about higher education. Susan R. Jones, coauthor of Identity Development of College Students

‘Intersectionality and Higher Education’ by Scott Jachik Inside Higher Education

Selected New Books on Higher Education,' complied by Ruth Hammond Chronicle of Higher Education

W. CARSON BYRD is an associate professor in the department of sociology at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. He is the author of Poison in the Ivy: Race Relations and the Reproduction of Inequality on Elite College Campuses (Rutgers University Press).

RACHELLE J. BRUNN-BEVEL is an associate professor of sociology at Fairfield University in Connecticut. She is the coeditor of Intersectionality in Educational Research.

SARAH M. OVINK is an associate professor of sociology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg. She is the author of Race, Class, and Choice in Latino/a Higher Education: Pathways in the College-For-All Era.

Contents

Part I
Chapter 1: Always Crossing Boundaries, Always Existing in Multiple Bubbles: Intersected Experiences and Positions on College Campuses
Rachelle J. Brunn-Bevel, Sarah M. Ovink, W. Carson Byrd, and Antron D. Mahoney

Part II: Beyond Exams and Parties: Student Identities and Experiences
Chapter 2: The Contingent Climate: Exploring Student Perspectives at a Racially Diverse Institution
Marcela G. Cuellar and R. Nicole Johnson-Ahorlu
Chapter 3: More than Immigration Status: Undocumented Students in U.S. Jesuit Higher Education
Terry-Ann Jones
Chapter 4: Race-based Assumptions of Social Class Identity and their Consequences at a Predominantly White (and Wealthy) Institution
Deborah M. Warnock
Chapter 5: Biracial College Students’ Racial Identity Work: How Black-White Biracial Students Navigate Racism and Privilege at Historically Black and Historically White Institutions
Kristen A. Clayton
Chapter 6: The Still Furious Passage of the Black Graduate Student
Victor E. Ray

Part III: Between Research, Teaching, and Service: Faculty Identities and Experiences
Chapter 7: Faculty Members from Low Socioeconomic Status Backgrounds: Student Mentorship, Motivations, and Intersections
Elizabeth M. Lee and Tonya Maynard
Chapter 8: Doing Less with Less: Faculty Care Work in Times of Precarity
Denise Goerisch
Chapter 9: Faculty Assessments as Tools of Oppression: A Black Woman’s Reflections on Colorblind Racism in the Academy
Bedelia N. Richards
Chapter 10: “Diversity” Goals and Faculty of Color: Supporting Racial Inclusion and Awareness in General-Education Courses
Melanie Jones Gast, Ervin (Maliq) Matthew, and Derrick R. Brooms
Chapter 11: Pursuing Intersectionality as a Pedagogical Tool in the Higher Education Classroom
Orkideh Mohajeri, Fernando Rodriguez, and finn schneider

Part IV: Life among Paperwork and Bureaucracy: Staff Identities and Experiences
Chapter 12: Intersecting Identities and Student Affairs Professionals
Ophelie Rowe-Allen and Meredith Smith
Chapter 13: Studying STEM while Black: How Institutional Agents Prepare Black Students for the Racial Realities of STEM Environments
Tonisha B. Lane
Chapter 14: Exclusion, Perspective Taking, and the Liminal Role of Higher Education Staff in Supporting Students with Disabilities
Annemarie Vaccaro and Ezekiel Kimball

Part V: Intersectionality and Equity Efforts among Campus Communities
Chapter 15: Making Room for Gendered Possibilities: Using Intersectionality to Discover Transnormative Inequalities in the Women’s College Admissions Process
Megan Nanney
Chapter 16: Troubling Diversity: An Intersectional Analysis of Diversity Action Plans at U.S. Flagship Universities
Susan V. Iverson
Chapter 17: Tips of Icebergs in the Ocean: Reflections on Future Research for Embracing Intersectionality in Higher Education
W. Carson Byrd, Sarah M. Ovink, and Rachelle J. Brunn-Bevel

Notes on Contributors
Index

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