Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download campus access dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.
Non-UMass Amherst users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this dissertation through interlibrary loan.
Dissertations that have an embargo placed on them will not be available to anyone until the embargo expires.
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1824-5482
AccessType
Open Access Dissertation
Document Type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
Education
Year Degree Awarded
2020
Month Degree Awarded
September
First Advisor
Ximena Zúñiga
Second Advisor
Ezekiel Kimball
Third Advisor
Catherine Dimmitt
Subject Categories
Education | Higher Education | Other Education
Abstract
This qualitative research study used constructivist grounded theory methods to explore the lived experiences of 11 queer and trans undergraduate college students of various racial and ethnic backgrounds in a cross-race intergroup dialogue (IGD) course. Using document analysis of course assignments and post-dialogue semi-structured interviews allowed for rich inquiry into how these queer and trans students made meaning of their intersecting identities, sense of belonging, cross-race relationships, and social justice commitments. This study contributes new knowledge about the meaning-making processes of queer and trans college students of various racial and ethnic backgrounds and the role that IGD plays in supporting their meaning-making. This study will help inform practice and scholarship about the experiences of queer- and trans-identified college students of various racial and ethnic backgrounds and how they make meaning of their intersecting identities, commitments to social justice action, find support, and foster belonging on campus. This study demonstrates the role that IGD can play in supporting the meaning making processes and community development of queer and trans college students.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/ep2b-6x68
Recommended Citation
Tissi-Gassoway, Nina M., "MAKING MEANING IN THE MARGINS: IDENTITIES, BELONGING, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITMENTS IN A CROSS-RACE INTERGROUP DIALOGUE FOR QUEER AND TRANS COLLEGE STUDENTS" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations. 2087.
https://doi.org/10.7275/ep2b-6x68
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/2087