Negotiating Space: Critical Race Counternarratives of First-Generation College Latinas/os

• In Event: Roundtable Session 100
  In Roundtable Session: Situating Critical Race Theory in Context

Abstract

This paper documents the deleterious effects of race-blind admissions polices on underrepresented students by sharing critical race counterstories of four first-generation college (FGC) Latina/o students who attend selective universities. It introduces the concept of “displacement” to describe as the dislocation FGC Latina/os experience in the highly disruptive shift in Discourse and values between home and college. It also shares how students resisted this experience. This research has implications for policy and practice by providing a window into the post-affirmative action culture of California’s elite campuses. It also poses critical questions regarding the role of Ethnic Studies.

Author

• Amy H. Lee, Laney College