Ariel E. Seay

Date Approved

2018

Degree Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department or School

Communication, Media and Theatre Arts

Committee Member

Keon Pettiway, Ph.D., Chair

Committee Member

Nick Romerhausen, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Ray Quiel, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Doris Fields, Ph.D.

Abstract

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2017), Black women are among the most educated women in the United States. However, these dominant narratives about the educational achievements of Black women could be considered “rosy portrayals”. The purpose of this study is to understand, locate, and acknowledge the experiences and conditions of African American women in higher educational institutions through a thematic analysis and a curated Twitter chat. Dolores Delgado Bernal’s (1998) concept of “cultural intuition” was used to build a framework. The following research questions are addressed: What methods are useful for understanding the collective experiences of Black women in higher education when gaining a doctoral degree? What are the collective experiences of Black women in higher education when gaining a doctoral degree? In what ways do the collective experiences of Black women challenge dominant narratives about higher education as a democratic public sphere? Therefore, this study found that African American women are continuing to fight for equality inside of educational institutions, and they are continuing to create organizations to teach each other the standard educational curriculum.

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