Habits of Whiteness: Race/Ethnicity in College and University Admissions Viewbooks

• In Event: Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Habits of Spoken or Written Discourse for Academic Success

Abstract

Colleges and universities in the United States today are involved in marketing themselves more intensively than in any other time in history (Klassen, 2000). As such, one of the most widespread marketing tools used to attract students are admissions viewbooks designed to provide prospective students and their families with a favorable image of institutions of higher education (Hartley & Morphew, 2008; Hite & Yearwood 2001). In this study we explore how racial/ethnic diversity is represented in undergraduate admissions viewbooks. As viewbooks shape how prospective students and their families understand higher education, close analyses of the messages championed through this particular communication tool is of great import to a range of critical questions of equity in education.

Authors

• Nana Osei-Kofi, Iowa State University

• Lisette Esmeralda Torres-Gerald, Iowa State University

• Joyce Lui, Iowa State University