Black Male Bodies in White Female Spaces: Power, Dominance, and Myth in Social Work Education

ABSTRACT

In 2008, the Council for Social Work Education re-envisioned its accreditation framework. The primary intent was to advance more equitable social work educational environments, which required highlighting curriculum content, and the culture of human interchange. Still, little has been provided regarding their intersectional effects on classroom culture, or students’ educational experiences. To respond to this gap, this study explores the realities of 17 African-American male social work students attending predominantly White collegiate institutions. Interpretive phenomenological analysis, social dominance theory, and Foucauldian power were used to explore and contextualize participants’ experiences. Major findings highlight the nuanced ways gender and race intersect with power, curriculum, and pedagogical practices to protect and promote historically normative structures of racial dominance within social work education.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Danté D. Bryant

Danté D. Bryant is Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at University of North Carolina Charlotte.

Dexter Voisin

Dexter Voisin is Professor and Dean, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.