Black Women Undergraduates, Cultural Capital, and College Success - Paperback

by Norman K. Denzin (Other), Shirley R. Steinberg (Other)

This book documents the academic and social success of Black women undergraduates as they negotiate dominant educational and social discourses about their schooling lives. Starting with the premise that Black women undergraduates are not a homogenous group and that they are being successful in college in greater numbers than Black men, this book examines the ways they navigate being traditionally underprepared academically for college, the discourse of acting white , and oppressive classroom settings and practices. This work expands the theoretical concept of cultural capital by identifying the abundant and varied forms of cultural capital that Black women undergraduates provide, develop, and utilize as they make their way through college. The discussion of their raced, classed, and gendered experiences challenges the academy to make use of this understanding in its work towards educational equity. This movement has wide-reaching implications for ethos, policy, and practice in higher education.

Author Biography

The Author: Cerri A. Banks, Dean of William Smith College and Assistant Professor of Education at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, received her Ph.D. in cultural foundations of education from Syracuse University. Specializing in sociology of education, cultural studies, multicultural education, and qualitative research, Banks draws from critical pedagogy, educational theory, feminist theory, and critical race theory in her scholarship and teaching.