Latin@ identity politics in higher education: unveiling representations of whiteness in Latin@ culture

Abstract

I would like to acknowledge the various faculty members who served on my dissertation committee over the last several years of my dissertation writing, leading up to the completion of this project. This includes first and foremost, Dr. Nana Osei-Kofi. Without her guidance, support, patience, and willingness to stick with me for the long haul, my dissertation project would not be where it is. The quality and strength of my writing and research is a result of Dr. Osei-Kofi's mentorship and investment in me and my scholarship. Alongside Dr. Osei-Kofi, I am grateful to Drs. Natasha Croom, Brian Behnken, Laura Rendón, and Thoma Hill for their unwavering gentle push and reminders over the last seven years, and their investment in me. I am particularly thankful to Dr. Rendón and Dr. Hill for their mentorship and friendship. Dr. Rendón and Dr. Hill are a large part of my decision to pursue my doctorate and begin my doctoral journey in 2008. I am particularly grateful to Dr. Croom for understanding my circumstance and position as a full time higher education administrator in a very challenging role and as a committed father and husband. My respective position as Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, Chief Diversity Officer, and Title IX Officer presented me with many challenges and at times made it impossible for me to meet set deadlines, and my role as a father and husband for me is second to none. Dr. Croom understood these and her continued patience and willingness to support me is greatly appreciated. I am also particularly grateful to Dr. Behnken for his contributions to my work as a historian and whose scholarship has greatly influenced my work, and to Dr. Riyad Shahjahan for providing me the theoretical foundation necessary to take on this project and whose scholarship also influences my work. I would like to thank and acknowledge Dr. Warren

The promises and challenges of using an intersectional framework to study identity development during adolescence and early adulthood.

“…1 Because of its origins in Black feminism and critical race theory, much of this research has addressed privilege and oppression in those with Black versus White identities and, in particular, how structural inequalities limit Black youth' s positive opportunities at school, at work, and in their communities. Latinx-, Indigenous-, and Asian-origin scholars and activists have increasingly called for attention to other cultural and racial/ethnic communities that have experienced a long history of oppression 1 Following multiple scholars (e.g., Benitez, 2010), we use the term "minoritized" instead of "minority" or "underrepresented" to signal the experiences of people who are given minority status by people and systems that privilege particular identities, such as male, White, middle or upper class, physically abled, and so forth. The term "minoritized" thus captures the oppression that some adolescents and early adults experience due to their embodiment of particular social categories.…”