Race, space, and saving face.

Abstract

Despite diversity on college campuses increasing nationwide, higher education institutions still struggle to promote diversity and inclusion equally. The current literature shows a need to better understand the relationship between race, space, and interaction that forges approaches to understanding race in these contexts apart from the well-worn approaches of developmental stage theories. A few studies have previously addressed the purpose and importance of multicultural identity centers on higher education campuses, but none have used a framework that draws upon Goffman’s (1959) dramaturgy to analyze the role that the multicultural identity center plays in the racial performance of Students of Color on campus. This study explored the following question: What role does the multicultural identity center play in the racial performance of Students of Color on campus?