California DREAMers: Activism, Identity, and Empowerment Among Undocumented College Students

• In Event: Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: College Dreams: Access and Success Among Undocumented Students

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the individual activist identity development of undocumented college students at a selective California research university. Individual activist identity development and undocumented college students are two areas that require further investigation within higher education. This study explores the construction of activist identity at an individual level, how activist identity develops among undocumented students, and the ways that this identity inscribes power in a system in which undocumented students endure marginalization and oppression. This research reports the ways in which undocumented student activists inscribe power for themselves, come to an activist identity, and push for existence

Authors

• Linda Deangelo, University of Pittsburgh

• Maximilian Schuster, University of Pittsburgh