The Missing Box: Multiracial Student Identity Development at a Predominantly White Institution

Abstract

Amidst changing national racial demographics, multiracial college students have begun reframing how postsecondary institutions define diverse campus environments. Interest in how multiracial students self-identify has grown; yet, their identity development remains a complex and largely undefined process. This chapter examines how multiracial students navigated their identity development at a predominantly White institution (PWI). In particular, we connect Renn’s (2004) multiracial identity patterns with the philosophical idea of recognition desires. Findings indicated that White peers’ recognition (or misrecognition) of racial categories moderated multiracial students’ situational identities, particularly their agency with respect to self-identifying their race.

Citation

Macrander, A. and Winkle-Wagner, R. (2016), "The Missing Box: Multiracial Student Identity Development at a Predominantly White Institution", The Crisis of Race in Higher Education: A Day of Discovery and Dialogue (Diversity in Higher Education, Vol. 19), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 17-42. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-364420160000019001