Microaggressions In Higher Education

Words: 1010
Pages: 5

Introduction
The experiences of African American and Black students at predominantly white institutions of higher education in the U.S. have been well documented. More specifically, there is a plethora of research on the impacts of racial stereotypes and microaggressions on the overall college experience of Black students who attend these institutions (see e.g. Harper 2009, 2012, 2015; Hubain et al. 2016; Pérez Huber and Solórzano 2015; Solórzano, Ceja, and Yosso 2000). As the previous research reveals, most racial stereotypes are expressed through everyday manifestations of racism that Black students experience inside and outside of the classroom. These expressions are referred to as racial microaggressions. The micro in microaggressions
…show more content…
Furthermore, while the purpose of this study is specifically aimed to highlight the experiences of Black students in institutions of higher education, I hope that my findings will be useful for interrogating the experiences of Latinx, Asians, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, Indigenous peoples, Middle Easterners and North Africans, and bi/multi-racial/ethnic individuals.
Literature Review
The literature review of this study includes research related to five questions: (a) What is race and racism? (b) What are racial stereotypes? (c) What are racial microaggressions? (d) What are the experiences of Black students at predominantly white colleges and universities? (e) What does Black student resistance look like at predominantly white colleges and
…show more content…
Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination all refer to the “belief, attitudinal, and behavioral components, respectively, of negative intergroup relations” (Gilovich et al. 2013: 410). Stereotypes are beliefs that certain attributes are characteristic of members of particular groups. They can be positive or negative, true or false. And whether valid or not, they are a way of categorizing people (Lee, Jussim, & McCauley 1995). Stereotyping involves thinking about a person not as an individual, but as a member of a group, and project what (you think) you know about the group onto your experience about the individual (Gilovich et al. 2013: 409, emphasis added).
Whereas prejudice “refers to the attitudinal and affective response toward a certain group and its individual members” (Gilovich et al. 2013: 409, emphasis added). Therefore, discrimination is the negative or harmful behavior that involves unfair treatment of others (Gilovich et al. 2013). For this project, I will specifically be examining stereotypes; nonetheless, it is likely that my data will reveal the effects of both prejudice and