Abstract

JIMENEZ QUINONES, Lorena. Affimative action in higher education: phenomenology and intersectionality. Sinéctica [online]. 2024, n.62, e1596.  Epub June 03, 2024. ISSN 2007-7033.  https://doi.org/10.31391/s2007-7033(2024)0062-010.

This article addresses the relevance of intersectionality as a conceptual tool for analyzing the experience of students who were admitted to higher education institutions via an affirmative action. Affirmative action policies are usually justified though the following arguments: the need to address the remnants of colonialism and slavery, the positive effects they have in terms of diversity and inclusion in universities, and their impact in the consolidation of social justice in terms of access to higher education. However, it is important to acknowledge that these policies recognize a single identity marker, therefore they do not take into consideration the interplay and interconnection of different socially constructed identities. The argument proposed in this article is that an intersectional phenomenological approach is useful for capturing the complexities of essentialized identity stereotypes, and for the deconstruction of neutral and decontextualized interpretations of positive discrimination. In this sense, intersectionality problematizes the empirical dimension of student experience by underscoring the different scales of oppression that produce and reify educational inequalities.

Keywords : affirmative action; intersectionality; student experience.