Chapter Five: "Are We Change Agents or Pawns?" Reflecting on the Experiences of Three African American Junior Faculty

This chapter reflects an on-going effort to use autoethnography as a medium to understand, analyze, and make meaning of the experiences of three African American female junior faculty members working in a predominantly White institution. Drawing on data that include in-depth phenomenological intervi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Counterpoints (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2010-01, Vol.375, p.97-118
Main Authors: Jay, Michelle L., Packer-William, Catherine L., Jackson, Tambra O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Autoethnography
Colleges
Faculty diversity
Fairness
Narratives
Racism
Recommendations
Section Two
Social justice
Universities
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Summary:This chapter reflects an on-going effort to use autoethnography as a medium to understand, analyze, and make meaning of the experiences of three African American female junior faculty members working in a predominantly White institution. Drawing on data that include in-depth phenomenological interviews, reflection journals, formal/informal dialogues, and official documentation, we explore a notable predicament that occurred during our second year in the academy and its subsequent impact on our professional and personal identities as well as our day-to-day existence within the college. The dilemma, which is detailed in a narrative format, highlights the conflicts that inevitably result from the daily negotiation between our self-imposed identities as scholar/activists and thus, "change agents," and the "agents of change" identity imposed upon us by our colleagues and administration.
ISSN:1058-1634