Classroom counterspaces: centering Brown and Black students in doctoral education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Campus counterspaces exist as spaces where Brown and Black students can promote their own learning, and where their experiences are considered valid and critical knowledge. However, research on classrooms as counterspaces has often been limited to ethnic studies courses. Using data collected from a graduate-level research methods course situated in the U.S, this study explores what constitutes a classroom counterspace, and how instructors can create classroom counterspaces. Data were mainly collected through student conversations, reflections, classroom observations, and field notes. Drawing from Anzaldúa’s borderlands theory, the study revealed that classroom counterspaces recognize the complexity of Brown and Black identity, push back against whiteness, and support Brown and Black students’ vulnerable and honest perspectives on the academy. These findings highlight areas where instructors can rethink their pedagogical approaches to create classroom counterspaces, and suggest that classroom counterspaces also push against the hegemony found in current U.S. higher education.