Chapter 2: Feeding Fish to the Tiger to Survive: Interrogating Structures of Oppressionin Higher Education

Authored by three women of color who are trained by and work in predominantly White institutions, this chapter explores the ways in which hidden and overt structures of higher education continue to sustain and proliferate structures of oppression, silencing, and deficit narratives through curriculum design, training of educational leaders, and mentoring. Using Bhattacharya’s (2016) framework, being in higher education as a marginalized group is akin to riding the boat with Richard Parker (tiger from the movie Life of Pi). The authors discuss the materiality of oppression faced by women of color in higher education, as well as negotiation and coping strategies. The authors conclude the chapter by making recommendations relevant for leadership in higher education in order to have difficult equity-centered conversations, subvert structures of oppression, and create agentic spaces for marginalized communities in higher education. Supplementary materials for this chapter will include interactive strategies and guidelines for conducting difficult conversations, brainstorming exercises of imagination of freedom and agentic space making, and strategies for creating inclusive curriculum.