Date of Award
12-2004
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Communication
First Advisor
Dr. Mark P. Orbe
Second Advisor
Dr. Leigh Ford
Third Advisor
Dr. Evelyn B. Winfield
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
Notes of a White Black Woman by Judy Scales-Trent (1995) was the text used for this analysis and offered insight to the process of identity development, and the co-cultural communication practices of an African American woman whom others mistake as European American-a 'White Black Woman.' The basis for this body of research was embedded in the premise that co-cultural communication practices are intrinsically linked to the normal communication of the White Black person's identity development negotiation process. The initial exploration of this study began with explaining Kich's (1992) bi-racial identity model from a mono-racial perspective allowing for new interpretations of this particular model. The second phase of this analysis linked Kich's (1992) biracial identity model to the co-cultural communication theory (Orbe, 1998c) which provided a theoretical frame for contextualizing the various stages of the model, this allowed for a simultaneous exploration of spoken words and the identity stage. This study also serves to prepare a foundation for future inquiry into this phenomenon and significantly contributes to the development of the White Black identity negotiation model (see Gilroy, 2000; Haley, 1976; Jeffries, 2002).
Recommended Citation
Jeffries, Tammy Lynn, "Intersections of Race, Identity, and Co-Cultural Practices: A Qualitative Content Analysis of a 'White Black Woman'" (2004). Masters Theses. 3869.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3869