Paper Title
The Lived Experiences of Black Female doctoral students
Location
Room 220, DiGiorgio Campus Center (DiGs)
Keywords
doctoral students, black females, Patricia Hill Collins
Start Date
April 2016
End Date
April 2016
Abstract
W.E.B. Dubois writes about double consciousness, this hyper awareness of being a Black American. In the Souls of Black Folk he writes, “It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness, an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two un reconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder” (Dubois 1903). This idea of double consciousness is an ever present feeling for Black female doctoral students at predominately white institutions (PWIs); the idea of striving and surviving, working twice as hard and twice as long. The path for the Black academic is paved with oppression and tokenism but also triumph and success. How different is that path when race and gender intersect? What are the experiences of Black female doctoral students at PWIs? Will mentorship or the lack thereof have a significant impact? This study will attempt to answer the aforementioned questions. This analysis will address the social constructs of race and gender through intersectionality.
The Lived Experiences of Black Female doctoral students
Room 220, DiGiorgio Campus Center (DiGs)
W.E.B. Dubois writes about double consciousness, this hyper awareness of being a Black American. In the Souls of Black Folk he writes, “It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness, an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two un reconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder” (Dubois 1903). This idea of double consciousness is an ever present feeling for Black female doctoral students at predominately white institutions (PWIs); the idea of striving and surviving, working twice as hard and twice as long. The path for the Black academic is paved with oppression and tokenism but also triumph and success. How different is that path when race and gender intersect? What are the experiences of Black female doctoral students at PWIs? Will mentorship or the lack thereof have a significant impact? This study will attempt to answer the aforementioned questions. This analysis will address the social constructs of race and gender through intersectionality.
