Listening for silences: Discursive constructions of class within reflections of black male study abroad travelers from the USA

Abstract

This article features a critical discourse analysis of narratives gathered from Black men reflecting upon their travel experiences. Though the participants consistently referenced their race and gender through explicit mention and self-naming, ideas concerning the identity marker of class were most often communicated through silence characterized by imprecise, obfuscating language and indirect, euphemistic word choices. Using the tools of critical discourse studies, I explored the nature of these silences and the understandings they revealed in spite of being only indirectly spoken. The implications of this work are both conceptual and applied in nature. Conceptually, the analysis offers a model for considering, grappling with and ultimately mobilizing a data corpus’ instances of silence. The insights gained about the self-understandings of this underrepresented subgroup of study abroad travelers provide helpful information for student affairs and international education practitioners seeking to attract and better serve Black male students.