Mapping the Geographies of Belonging: Unpacking How African Immigrant Womyn Collegians Navigate an HSI

• In Event: Resilience in Exile: Immigrant Students’ Agency and Identity in New Educational Spaces

Abstract

This qualitative critical study used educational journey maps (EJMs) with Black-life making to elucidate epistemological perspectives of eight first- and second-generation womyn African immigrant collegians who navigate the geographies of belongingness. Sociospatial dialectic is applied with participant’s drawn EJMs to unpack multidimensional counter-cartographies and understand consequential decisions. Participant’s Black-life making decisions informed navigation strategies (e.g., resistance of racism), and contributed to belonging, on and off campus. Two themes emerged: 1) All the Time God is Good; and 2) Catching Motion. Study findings not only contribute to research about how womyn collegians of African descent use informed Black-life making decisions to reinforce self-definition, self-care, and resistance, but also elucidates how they populate holistically affirming spaces to achieve belonging.

Author

• Bryan Hotchkins, Texas Tech University