This dissertation presents a longitudinal ethnographic study about race and how college students construct and negotiate its meaning. The study utilizes multiple qualitative methods such as participant observation, unstructured interviews and focus groups. Rather than race identity or racism, the discourses of race and how they are produced or adopted by students on a university campus are central to this work. Drawing from Critical Race Theory, Critical Whiteness Studies, and other race theories, I present qualitative analyses about race, which demonstrate how racism is cloaked and persists in colorblind discourse and the race talk of educated young people. This work illuminates how colorblind discourses function for different racial groups of people, exposes the mechanics of race talk, and challenges the stasis of current racial/multicultural education. I conclude with implications for further research and recommendations for educators to be more vigilant and productive in anti-racist and justice education for all students.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation presents a longitudinal ethnographic study about race and how college students construct and negotiate its meaning. The study utilizes multiple qualitative methods such as participant observation, unstructured interviews and focus groups. Rather than race identity or racism, the discourses of race and how they are produced or adopted by students on a university campus are central to this work. Drawing from Critical Race Theory, Critical Whiteness Studies, and other race theories, I present qualitative analyses about race, which demonstrate how racism is cloaked and persists in colorblind discourse and the race talk of educated young people. This work illuminates how colorblind discourses function for different racial groups of people, exposes the mechanics of race talk, and challenges the stasis of current racial/multicultural education. I conclude with implications for further research and recommendations for educators to be more vigilant and productive in anti-racist and justice education for all students.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Buckley, Paul M."],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Cultural Foundations of Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Sari K. Biklen"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:54:17Z","subjects":["colorblindness","critical race theory","discourse","multicultural education","racism","whiteness","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://surface.syr.edu/cfe_etd/51","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Sari K. Biklen"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Buckley, Paul M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Cultural Foundations of Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["colorblindness","critical race theory","discourse","multicultural education","racism","whiteness","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://surface.syr.edu/cfe_etd/51"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation presents a longitudinal ethnographic study about race and how college students construct and negotiate its meaning. The study utilizes multiple qualitative methods such as participant observation, unstructured interviews and focus groups. Rather than race identity or racism, the discourses of race and how they are produced or adopted by students on a university campus are central to this work. Drawing from Critical Race Theory, Critical Whiteness Studies, and other race theories, I present qualitative analyses about race, which demonstrate how racism is cloaked and persists in colorblind discourse and the race talk of educated young people. This work illuminates how colorblind discourses function for different racial groups of people, exposes the mechanics of race talk, and challenges the stasis of current racial/multicultural education. I conclude with implications for further research and recommendations for educators to be more vigilant and productive in anti-racist and justice education for all students.
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