Twenty-third International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

Students bring their own unique stories, shaped by history, culture and language, to the higher education context. Developing a sense of place-belonging on a diverse university campus is intrinsically intertwined with the intersectionality between race, ethnicity, gender and language. This study uses narrative inquiry to understand one student’s struggle to navigate a sense of place-belonging over four years on a diverse university campus. Although the study depicts a young South African student’s unique narratives, the findings tell a story that knows no geographical boundaries. The persistence of barriers of difference continues to position students in terms of inclusion and exclusion networks, and for many, the development of a sense of place-belonging remains elusive. The findings reveal that shared values enable intra-group cohesion, cross-cutting barriers of difference and the navigation of a sense of belonging. However, within the bigger university context, social positioning along a single power axis complicates relationships across racial and cultural differences and, by implication, the development of place-belonging. Trying to negotiate collective values in the presence of self-constructed boundaries of difference is an exercise that often holds grandiose transformation plans captive on the level of disillusionment. Instead, central to enabling a holistic experience of embeddedness for all students is deconstructing barriers of difference aimed at co-constructing transformation as a collective enterprise.