Endarkened seeking: The storymaking of Black American women faculty sojourners in Senegal

Barnes, Cinder Cooper

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132537 Copy

Description

Title

Endarkened seeking: The storymaking of Black American women faculty sojourners in Senegal

Author(s)

Barnes, Cinder Cooper

Issue Date

2025-11-26

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Davila, Liv T

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Davila, Liv T

Committee Member(s)

• Witt, Allison
• Baber, Lorenzo
• Herrera, Linda

Department of Study

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ed.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Black Feminist Epistemology
• Endarkened Feminist Epistemology
• Black women faculty
• Endarkened Storywork
• Black American women in West Africa
• International professional development

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation study is to examine the stories of Black American women faculty who participate in overseas professional development programs, an area of research that has been sorely neglected. Education researchers’ most recent focus —as it relates to experiences abroad of Black Americans—has been on college students, which suggests that academia does see the importance of such experiences but makes assumptions about access when it relates to faculty. Very little qualitative or quantitative research exists about the number of Black faculty—in general and Black women faculty specifically—participating in funded overseas faculty development. Few scholars are interrogating how Black women faculty’s participation in such offerings affects their careers and personal lives. I explore the perspectives of eight Black American women faculty who participated in the Council of American Overseas Research Centers’ (CAORC) Overseas Faculty Development Seminar (OFDS) to Senegal, West Africa between 2019-2025. Using narrative inquiry and Endarkened Frameworks and Methodologies (EFr&M), conceptual frameworks and methodologies that center Black storytelling traditions, I 1) explore the motivations, experiences, and impact of Black American women faculty participation in overseas faculty development opportunities, particularly in Senegal, West Africa, 2) posit a new EFr&M, called Endarkened Seeking Epistemology, and 3) encourage more research on this population of faculty and their overseas experiences.

Graduation Semester

2025-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132537

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Cinder Cooper Barnes

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