About
Stephanie Hernandez Rivera, PhD (she/her/ella) is an assistant professor in the Master of Arts in Higher Education program at Elon University. Guided by Women of Color feminisms and race-gender based methodologies, her research focuses on the identity development, experiences, and resistance strategies of intersectionally-marginalized people in higher education, most specifically Women of Color. Her research and practice intends to create visibility of the resistance and activist strategies of Women of Color, while simultaneously improving practice.
Current Work
My scholarship broadly explores how students, faculty, and staff of color experience intersectional forms of oppression in education settings. To date, my research has largely explored the experiences of students in this respect and how they engage in resistance strategies that challenge more than one form of oppression simultaneously. An area of focus that has emerged within this work was their engagement in campus identity centers. Although existing literature highlights the history of identity centers, and the support they have provided for students of color, few research studies explore the experiences of practitioners in these centers and how they support students impacted by intersectional oppression. As a result, I am currently working on developing projects in this respect. Furthermore, I am invested in continuing the development of critical cultural methodologies rooted in Women of Color feminisms and furthering understandings of intersectionality as an analytic tool.
Research Area Keyword(s)
intersectionality, Women of color, students, identity development, Resistance/Activism