Theorizing Spiritual Capital Through the Lived Experiences of Black Women Doctoral Students

• In Event: Spiritual explorations in the 21st century

Abstract

This paper extends Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) model by offering spiritual capital as a form of capital that supports the success of Black women doctoral students. While the CCWM is comprised of navigational, aspirational, social, linguistic, familial, and resistant capital, it does not fully account for the spiritual resources Black women draw upon to persist and thrive in academic spaces, particularly during their doctoral journeys. We theorize spiritual capital through analysis of participants’ narratives, which revealed how prayer, meditation, communal worship, faith networks, and a sense of divine purpose provided emotional resilience, mentorship, and collective strength throughout their doctoral journeys. Many described earning a doctorate as a mission-oriented accomplishment intended to uplift future generations of Black women scholars.

Authors

• Jodi Lynne Patton-Jordan, Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville

• Lori Patton Davis, University of California, Los Angeles