Life History as a Critical Race Theory Method for Counterstorytelling in the Study of Higher Education

• In Event: Illuminating Truth From the Margins: Using Critical Race Methodologies to Conduct Humanizing Research

Abstract

Objectives: Counterstorytelling is a method and methodology grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT) that uses stories to examine and highlight the ways oppression shapes the experiences of People of Color (POC) (Martinez, 2020). Counterstories can be shaped from one’s own autobiographical reflections or from the experiences of other POC (Solorzano & Yosso, 2002). Historically, (e.g. Yosso, 2013) counterstories are constructed from interview data. However, there is a dearth in scholarship that offers detailed guidance on the data collection process itself. To help facilitate the storytelling process, this paper offers a life history exercise as a data collection method that can be used to construct counterstories.

Framework: The proposed method draws on key principles from both Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Chicana Feminisms (CF). CRT provides a theoretical lens that acknowledges the pervasive nature of racism within U.S. institutions, including higher education (Patton, 2016). We utilize CRT to inform the life history exercise in a way that centers the experiential knowledge of POC. CF informed our methodological approach which honors the knowledge of POC and privileges community over individuality (Fieros & Bernal, 2016).

Methods: This paper stems from a larger study on the racialized/gendered experiences of Latina community college presidents. Using platicas, a CF methodology which embraces study participants as study collaborators and encourages researcher vulnerability (Fieros & Bernal, 2016), we spoke with 5 Latina presidents twice. It was here that the life history exercise was conceptualized as a method used to explore how Latinas thrive and survive in the oppressive field of higher education. Figure 1 demonstrates how each president was asked to create a timeline starting from their first day as presidents to present day, noting their “highs” and “lows”. The “lows” are designed to document experiences with oppression in their roles while the “highs” describe instances of resistance or notable accomplishment despite institutional barriers.

Findings: First, we found the exercise provided an opportunity to reflect on their experiences with oppression at the intersection of ethnicity and gender outside of the researcher’s gaze. Instead, study collaborators were asked to bring the completed exercise to our platica. Secondly, the exercise encouraged the Latina presidents to tell stories about when they have thrived, not just survived. Lastly, because the larger study utilized a platica methodology which encourages researcher vulnerability, we as the researchers also shared our own life histories. This practice led to a rich exchange of stories between researcher and study collaborator, creating a “third space” where stories could be shared, and knowledge could be co-constructed.

Significance:
Malagon and colleagues (2009) invited CRT scholars to further develop a “critical race-grounded methodological approach” that includes collaborative data collection techniques and strategies that privilege the stories of POC. This paper builds upon that call, providing researchers with an exercise designed to acknowledge the role of race and racism in the lives of POC situated within the ivory tower (i.e. the “lows”) while also dispelling deficit notions about those navigating higher education by highlighting stories of resistance (i.e. the “highs”).

Authors

• Cynthia Estrada, California State University - Channel Islands
  Presenting Author

• Fernando Garcia, University of California - Los Angeles
  Presenting Author