"The experiences of queer men of color in higher education: Managing multiple identities in college"
To date, psychological research on underrepresented groups in higher education has focused on race and gender, but the question of how holding multiple marginalized identities influences a person’s college experience remains largely unexplored. Additionally, research on men of color who identify as gay, bisexual, or queer in higher education, particularly Latino and Asian men, is sparse. In our research we examine how college men who identify as sexual minorities 1) make sense of multiple identities in a college context, particularly men of color who must often negotiate multiple marginalized identities; 2) are influenced by race/ethnic cultural norms in terms of “coming out” stories, and whether they choose to come out at all; 3) challenge stereotypes about their many social identities; and 4) describe the positive aspects of their identities and their college experience. Our interviews with college-age men who identify as queer, gay, or bisexual provide useful information about the stage of identity development known as emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000). This stage of development is considered a critical point in a person’s identity development and college provides an optimal space for people to explore their identities. However, cultural remnants of the academy’s white heterosexual male origins (Stewart & Dottolo, 2005) present some challenges for underrepresented groups who may perceive the college environment as unwelcoming, particularly for those who hold multiple marginalized identities (e.g. men of color who identify as gay). How these men negotiate their multiple identities remains largely unexplored with most psychological research done in the college context focusing on attitudes held by heterosexual students about sexual minority students (Evans, 2001), but there is little research on the experiences of sexual minorities themselves, and particularly men of color in the college context (Patton, 2011; Wilkerson, 2010). Assuming that “coming out” is an important process for all groups of men (Hall, 2009), racial comparisons have not adequately addressed how culture informs how and if a gay, bisexual, or queer man chooses to come out. Our research examines positive coping strategies employed by gay, bisexual, or queer college men of color with the goal of providing empirical evidence to colleges that will aid in the development of interventions as well as affirming practices already in place at colleges.
Established in 2000 by the Latin American Studies Committee, and funded by the office of the Dean for Academic Affairs, these competitive awards support student research in Latin America and the Caribbean that contributes to a subsequent independent study for a semester or a year, under the direction of a faculty member. You may read grant awardees’ reports >
Alexandra Fogarty '13
"The Identification of Argentine Horsemen with the Literary Image of the Gaucho: the Impact of Modernization on Identity"
The notion of national identity remains very convoluted in many Latin American nations to this day. Argentina presents an interesting case -the boundaries between the city and the pampas remain punctuated due to ethnical and social differences. However, through the glorification of a "traditional" past, many different groups are brought together under what remains today a celebrated symbol of the nation -it was the idealized gaucho that became the first figure of national identity, and its significance today is at the center of this study.
Hannah Lorastein
'13 "Everyday in Black and White: Toward a New Understanding of Race in Lima, Peru"
This summer, Hannah conducted research on the lived experience of racial labels and categories in Lima, Peru. Read her report here.
Named after Professor Emeritus John H. Turner, this prize is awarded to a graduating Latin American studies major who, in the judgment of the Latin American Studies Committee, has achieved academic distinction and has contributed to an understanding of the region.
In 2012 the John Harold Turner Senior Prize in Latin American Studies was awarded to Eli Garrard.
Janka Garrard ‘12.
Eli has done outstanding work in our courses and Latin American Studies community at Bowdoin. He studied contemporary Argentine Cinema in Buenos Aires last year and, with the support of a Grua/O’Connell Research Award to conduct on-site research in Buenos Aires last January, conducted a year-long independent study project on Latin American film this year under the direction of Enrique Yepes. Eli has also worked as a tutor of both Spanish and English at the Bowdoin Center for Learning and Teaching, and volunteered ESL classes at Portland Adult Education. Recently he was awarded a Fulbright Grant to Argentina, where he will spend a year working as an English Teaching Assistant at a teacher-training institute in the provinces. While there, he’s hoping to involve local kids in a community art project, teaching them to tell personal and family stories through the medium of comics. This year at Bowdoin he has been working on a similar project to retell the history of his own family in graphic novel format. Next year in Argentina, he is also planning to organize an oral history project to record the stories of community members and older citizens in particular, similar to the recording of personal narratives of Latino/a students at Bowdoin he did as a final project for Mariana Cruz’s Latino Education course.
The Global Citizens Grant, initiated in 2007 by Willy Oppenheim ’09, and awarded through the McKeen Center for the Common Good, provides Bowdoin students travel funding to spend 8-10 weeks learning about issues such as public health, elder and disability rights, education and environmental sustainability through serving with grassroots organizations outside of the United States. Since the grant’s inception, eight recipients have worked with organizations in Latin America, building on their experiences through academic and service work on their return.
This year's Global Citizen is Emma James. For more information on Emma and her work in Bolivia, please visit the Global Citizen Grant Recipient page.
Information on previous recipients of the Glabal Citizen Grant can be found here.
With the support of the LAS Research Grant, Jae Lee '06 collected on-site information for her Honors thesis, "De Coreano a Coreguayo: The Korean-Paraguayan Community, 1964-2005."
Emergency Information | Help
Send Feedback | Print Page
Connect on Bowdoin Social »
Bowdoin College · Brunswick, Maine · 04011 · 207-725-3000