“I Feel Like I Belong, and I Know Why I Belong”: An Intersectional Identity-Affirming Counterspace

Abstract

This paper draws on qualitative interview data with student-residents and alumni of an undergraduate residential learning community at a large U.S. university. The authors bring together the frameworks of intersectionality and counterspace to explore how student-residents experienced the intersectional framework of the residential learning community. This paper outlines how the community served as an intersectional identity-affirming counterspace and considers the limitations and challenges of the space within the larger social and institutional context. It concludes with a consideration of the implications for efforts toward educational justice and equity.