Textual silences and the (re)presentation of black undergraduate women in higher education journals: a critical discourse analysis

Abstract

Throughout history, media portrayals have shaped what is deemed important in a culture and the way people view "others" (McCombs & Shaw, 1972). Popular magazines, movies, music, and the news provide people with information regarding the needs and behaviors of individuals and groups; therefore, when real-life interactions with these populations are limited, media portrayals can significantly influence perception. Research has shown that in the U.S., media portrayals of people of color, women, and specifically Black women can be one dimensional and skewed, thus providing an inaccurate account of the way these people live (Brooks & Hebert, 2006; hooks, 1992). Similar to general society, the academy has its own channels of knowledge distribution that serve as the medium through which its messages and meanings are articulated and disseminated. These mediums include, but are not limited to, scholarly books, conferences, the classroom, the co-curriculum, and academic journals. Academic journals have become the official record of a discipline and, like popular media, shape perception (Love & Yousey, 2001). Academic journals, in their role as a discipline's official discourse, also set the agenda for and reflect what has been deemed important in a discipline at a specific point in time. Issues addressed in the academic journals of applied fields, such as education, influence practice and subsequent scholarship, as practitioners are encouraged to remain engaged so their practice is informed by scholarly research. For those of us interested in and working to enhance the educational experiences of undergraduate students of color, we notice that, for the better part of 20 years, discourses circulating via conference program books, academic journals, scholarly books, and the overall "buzz" in the field of student affairs and on campuses across the nation have constructed Black

Black Women Undergraduates

“…The superwoman ideal promotes the expectations of Black women as selfless, hardworking, and strong (West et al, 2016). When BWU are perceived as super women, they are seen as having the ability to persist at any cost, even if that cost is their own self-esteem and mental health (Everett & Croom, 2017). The idea that Black women are impermeable to vulnerability, the psychological and emotional impact of academic struggles, and microaggressive attacks on their intellect is harmful to their identities and self-concepts .…”

The absences of LGBTQ-related language in Iowa school handbooks: School handbooks as a catalyst for change

“…What research has shown regarding handbook language is that the language of the handbook can be the primary focus of social change and that the discourse is not inclusive without the explicit rhetoric of those who aim for inclusion (Everett, 2015).…”