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

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.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Barnes, Cinder Cooper

Contributors dc:contributor

• Davila, Liv T
• Witt, Allison
• Baber, Lorenzo
• Herrera, Linda

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

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Cinder Cooper Barnes

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

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

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132537