Transformative Identity Formation: A Collaborative Autoethnographic Exploration of Womxn of Color Researchers' Experiences in Higher Education

• In Event: Marginalized Positionality and Intersectional Understandings

Abstract

This transformative autoethnographic study delves into the experiences of women of color researchers in higher education, particularly at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Drawing upon Critical Race Theory and collaborative critical autoethnography, we illuminate how whiteness pervades our doctoral journeys. By linking personal stories with social-cultural perspectives, we empower ourselves to share teaching and learning experiences within a white majority community. Engaging in collective agency, we address racial challenges through memory work meditation, storytelling sharing, critical analysis, and reflection. Our findings underscore feelings of othering, undervaluation, and microaggression, revealing the impact of racial trauma. Through resilience and critical activism, we reclaim our identities, fostering a heightened sense of criticality in academia.

Authors

• Muge Olgun-Baytas, Pennsylvania State University - Abington

• Sung Ryung Lyu, American University

• Azaria I. Cunningham, Boston University

• Nakisha D. Whittington, Stanford University

• Jue Wang, University of Idaho