Self, context, and power: Introducing the critical campus ecology model

Abstract

AbstractIn this chapter, I introduce the critical campus ecology model (CCEM) to account for systems of oppression in an individual's ecosystem. Drawing insights from queer geographies and critical whiteness studies, I add “oppressive systems” as the fifth contextual system to the Process‐Person‐Context‐Time model. Forces in the oppressive system, such as racism and cissexism, influence each of the individual's systems and have real, material influence on all aspects of the student's context. Further, I share how I utilized the CCEM as a framework for data collection and analysis for a study of students’ conceptions of their campus LGBTQ+ center. I conclude with implications for research and practice, such as leveraging the CCEM as a tool for reflection, identity exploration, and social critique.Practical Takeaways Oppressive systems influence all levels of an individual's ecosystem. Yet, classic ecological models including Bronfenbrenner's Process‐Person‐Context‐Time model, do not attend to power and oppression. The critical campus ecology model (CCEM) orients scholars and practitioners to the overt and insidious ways that oppressive systems shape an individual's ecology. Additionally, it acknowledges that the individual and their contexts can also act on oppressive systems. The CCEM can be a powerful tool in research settings to guide participants’ self‐reflection about the contexts and forces shaping their experiences. In practice settings, it can be similarly leveraged as a tool for reflection, identity exploration, and social critique.