Born this Way?: U.S. College Students Make Sense of the Biosocial Underpinnings of Race and Other Identities

Authors

  • Marc Johnston-Guerrero The Ohio State University
  • Vu Tran The Ohio State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v18i2.1126

Keywords:

higher education, biosocial, identity, college students, sensemaking

Abstract

With advances in biotechnology come potential changes in how college students may understand the nature of identity. This study explores sensemaking around the biological underpinnings of proclaimed “social” identities (e.g., race, class, gender). Based on interviews with 34 undergraduate students recruited from two large, public, research universities in the United States, a conceptual model is offered to outline the general process of how students make sense of biological and/or social explanations of identity, including the role of controllability and essentialism. We discuss implications for multicultural education and teaching the “social construction” of identity in changing contexts.

Author Biographies

Marc Johnston-Guerrero, The Ohio State University

Assistant Professor, Higher Education and Student Affairs
Dept. of Educational Studies
College of Education and Human Ecology

Vu Tran, The Ohio State University

Graduate Research Associate, Higher Education Student Affairs Program

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Published

2016-06-20

How to Cite

Johnston-Guerrero, M., & Tran, V. (2016). Born this Way?: U.S. College Students Make Sense of the Biosocial Underpinnings of Race and Other Identities. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 18(2), 107–124. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v18i2.1126

Issue

Section

Articles (Peer-reviewed)