ERIC Number: ED646372
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 174
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 9798841779322
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Broken Silence: Adding Antidiscrimination Protections for Sexual Orientation and Gender at Watershed University
William Barney Nye
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Utah
College and university policymakers are often forced to react to incidents of homo- or transphobia on their campuses. This study explores the case of one institution, Watershed University, that endeavored to add protections to the institution's anti-discrimination policy for sexual orientation and gender, following an incident of viral cyberbullying. Up to the point of the triggering incident, silence pervaded the campus in terms of discussion of LGBTQ+ campus community members' experiences of the institution. Using the triggering incident and subsequent policy change process, this study examines the contextual and political dynamics in the wake of a broken silence surrounding the LGBTQ+ community. Participants in this autoethnographic case take up four themes related to this experience: a) a commitment to the stated institutional value of inclusion; b) participants' insecurity related to administrative identity; c) participants' insecurity related to ally identity; and d) a commitment to broken silence. The exploration of these themes leads to the development of a methodology particular to this case, but with strong potential relevance to other similarly situated institutions, and is designed to articulate both insight and inquiry at both the policymaking level as well as at the level of the autoethnographic street-level bureaucrat. This methodology intentionally seeks to redistribute both structural and rhetorical power within the institution to foster a deepening discourse, challenging those power and voice inequities within the institution. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: LGBTQ People, Gender Discrimination, Sexuality, Computer Mediated Communication, Bullying, Autobiographies, Ethnography, School Policy, Higher Education, Inclusion, Student Experience
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A