Incorporating Intersectionality of Gender and Race Into an Assignment: Students Interviewing Their Grandparents

ABSTRACTVia an asynchronous online discussion forum, 186 college students narrated a life history, as one of their grandparents, making “I” statements. The aim of this mixed method study was to further examine the intersectionality of race and gender revealed in these narratives. Thematic analyses were conducted to identify themes related to lived experiences of the grandparents, and how experiences were interpreted by students in their narratives. Differential vulnerability was reported based on gender and race. More women than men, and more persons of color than white narrators, reported greater life challenges and hardships in all major themes that emerged from the narratives. The intersectionality of race and gender and double jeopardy hypothesis were supported by the study findings. Data availability statementThe data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Ethics approval statementThis research proposal was approved by the Institutional Review Board for Research With Human Subjects at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.Permission to reproduce material from other sourcesThere are no reproducible materials from other sources in this article.Additional informationNotes on contributorsOthelia EunKyoung LeeOthelia EunKyoung Lee is Professor at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.Jyotsana ParajuliJyotsana Parajuli is Assistant Professor at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.