Transatlantic Transformations: Black Women Reimagining Identity Through Study Abroad

“The paradox of education is precisely this: that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.” African American novelist James Baldwin shared this insight with an audience of teachers in 1963. Baldwin’s premise—that education can both illuminate and confound—may also reflect the transformative potential of study abroad, the focus of this research. My research examines Black women from the US studying in London, exploring whether the city’s racial and class dynamics allow for an excavation of identity that is more readily available beyond their home campuses, given the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in US higher education (and indeed study abroad). Existing research has yet to provide an in-depth look at the lived experiences of Black study abroad students who travel from the US to the UK, with most of the narratives within study abroad research derived from White experiences. While gender, and race (in that order), are at times singled out for analysis, a combined focus on race and gender is largely absent from the literature on international education. The destination country is not always established as central to creating a profile of who participates in education abroad. The existing research also lacks a focus on the distinct cultural landscapes of the US and the UK, and how this might impact upon a student’s prospective transformation – or the divergent ways in which understandings of race have evolved in the US versus the UK, and the extent to which study abroad might be viewed as a reprieve.? My own lived experience on three continents has equipped me with the capacity to detect spaces opened up and revealed by travel, whether intellectually, emotionally or otherwise. Finding myself repeatedly uprooted has cultivated an awareness of how transitions may propel self-exploration. My reflexive position is important to highlight, not least since I am a Black woman and a study abroad professional with experience spanning 15 years. The US/UK juxtaposition is distinctive given that a language barrier does not factor into a student’s possible experience of transformation.??For those who travel abroad to augment their language skills,?learning another language factors into the student’s scope for transformation, and could potentially obscure additional aspects of being ‘other’ in a new landscape. Grounded in Critical Race Theory’s emphasis on marginalised voices, the study involved exploratory interviews with 17 Black undergraduate women during their time abroad. The research participants identify as women laying claim to African ancestry (Black women). This descriptor includes women who describe all or a part of their heritage as originating on the African continent, i.e., ‘African,’ ‘Afro-Caribbean’ etc. Participants ranged in age from 19-29 years. The time participants spent in London varied from one month to one year. The study included some participants who travelled to multiple locations, with London among them. 99% (16 of 17) of the sample hailed from PWIs (Predominantly White Institutions). The final participant to give consent, almost two years into the research, hailed from a HBCU (Historically Black College/University). Participants were interviewed on two to three occasions. The number of interviews conducted was contingent on the duration of their time abroad, as well as when they opted into the study. Interviews were conducted once or twice during the students’ experience abroad, and once after, in a bid to tease out whether changing location once more and returning to the original field of study coaxes a more profound engagement with their time in a foreign context. This provided multiple opportunities in which to scrutinise and interrogate the student experience over an extended period. The data collection began in June of 2022 and concluded in early 2024. Thematic analysis was used to parse the data. Findings confirm that peer networks and social spaces are crucial to the study abroad experiences of Black women undergraduates. Their pre-existing identities shape their comprehension and navigation of these experiences. The sojourn of one student whose religious and ethnic identity are foregrounded, for example, is distinct from that of one who is invested in their intersectional Black and queer identity, although both self-define as Black women. One motif that consistently arose was a reframing of life as more spacious and evenly paced in their temporary milieu. Overall, study abroad offers Black women an opportunity to articulate their multifaceted selves and serves as a gateway to reimagined ways of being. These findings contribute to our understanding of how educational experiences and contexts interact with intersectional identities. Baldwin, J. (2008). 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