In this qualitative research study, I examined the autobiographies, oral narratives and life stories of twelve African American scholar-activists (including myself) who have used higher education as a vehicle for teaching and learning, as a tool for personal transformation and as an ingredient for social change. The research questions that the study was designed to address were: How have African Americans used scholarship as a means for personal and social transformation? What is the role and responsibility of scholar-activists who choose to root their genius in the academy? What lessons can be learned about how to use higher education for the purposes of transformation? Through a contextual analysis involving the personal lives of selected scholar-activists, I learned about the power that higher education has to shape identity and influence actions. This study also highlights how African American culture and spirit are components of research, teaching and activism; celebrates some of the contributions that African Americans have made to higher education; identifies five dimensions of teaching and transformation; and posits seven ways that higher education can contribute to the process of transformation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-1849 |
| Date | 01 January 2000 |
| Creators | Collins, Barbara J |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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