Sankofa African American Perspectives on Race and Culture in US Doctoral Education

Explores the complex interplay of race and culture in the doctoral experiences of African American students. Sankofa reexamines doctoral education through the lens of African American and Black experiences. Drawing on the African diasporic legacy of Sankofa and the notion that “it is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten,” the contributors “go back” to address legacies of exclusion in higher education and take care to center and honor the contributions of historically marginalized doctoral students. Whereas earlier studies focused largely on socialization, departmental norms, and statistical portraits of doctoral degree attachment, this book illuminates the ways African American students encounter, navigate, and make sense of their doctoral experiences and especially the impact of race and culture on those experiences. Individual chapters look at STEM programs, the intersections of race and gender, the role of HBCUs, and students’ relationships with faculty and advisors. Amid growing diversity across programs and institutions, Sankofa provides a critical model for applying culturally based frameworks in educational research, as well as practical strategies for better understanding and responding to the needs of students of color in predominantly White contexts. Pamela Felder Small is an Independent Scholar, Consultant and Founder of #BlackDoctoratesMatter. Marco J. Barker is Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion and Associate Professor of Practice in Educational Administration at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Marybeth Gasman is Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education and Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University–New Brunswick.