Date of Award
12-2016
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Legacy Department
Educational Leadership
Committee Member
Dr. Michelle Boettcher, Committee Chair
Committee Member
Dr. Julie Martin
Committee Member
Dr. Ysaaca Axelrod
Committee Member
Dr. Travers Scott
Committee Member
Dr. Tony Cawthon
Abstract
This critical qualitative, autoethnographic research project explored how i came to understand the American dream through stories shared with me during semi-structured interviews, scholarly literature, and my own lived experience. i utilized critical reflexivity to examine the ways in which race, gender, and class appear in a person's understanding of their life and the American dream. Critical whiteness theory, critical race theory and critical race feminism, and structuralist constructivism guided my understanding of the American dream and how it influences the ways in which individuals and i understand our lives. Through what i learned, i discuss how the American dream affects education and the way we understand our lives in the United States. These lessons include ideas such as what are the American dream, meritocracy, social mobility, equity, privilege and oppression, and how to achieve success. Impacted areas include conceptions of equity, equality, race, privilege, gender, class, education, success, family, career, and personal values/beliefs.
Recommended Citation
halter, jared m., "me of the Lowercase Variety: Reflections on the American Dream, Power, Privilege, and self" (2016). All Dissertations. 1842.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1842