Comparative Intersectionality: An Intra-Categorical Approach

Abstract

Our work is based on a comparative intersectional approach. Through comparative lenses, we explore a systematic process through which we can capture the differences and similarity within and between Black women academics in the United States (BWAUS), Black Caribbean women academics in the United States (BCWAUS), and Black women academics in the Caribbean (BWAC). This theoretical and methodological emphasis mirrors what Hancock (Perspectives on Politics 5:63–79, 2007) referred to as multiple intersections that are understood using what McCall (Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society 30:1771–1800, 2005) defined as intra-categorical analysis of experience within and between groups. More specifically, we empirically explore various strands of narrative inquiry to examine our own narratives and those of Black women in academe across the two contexts. This we employed as a strategy to interrogate the lived experiences of six African American women, five Afro-Caribbean women academics in the United States, and six Afro-Caribbean women academics in the region.