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College admissions viewbooks and the grammar of gender, race, and STEM

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Abstract

Numerous reports on the US economy argue that American higher education institutions must prepare a greater number of workers for employment in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), in order for the US to remain globally competitive. To do so, addressing the underrepresentation of women and people of color who pursue degrees in STEM is viewed as critical. In this study we examine one of the most widespread marketing tools used by institutions of higher education to attract prospective students, the admissions viewbook. Specifically, we provide an analysis of the ways in which gender and race are situated in representations of undergraduate STEM education. Our findings, based on a critical and visual textual analysis of 20 viewbooks, suggest that viewbooks convey strong messages concerning race, gender, and issues of belonging, hierarchy, power, and privilege in STEM.

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Acknowledgments

We borrow the notion of grammar, in our article title, from Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s work on racial grammar (see references). The authors wish to recognize Joyce Lui as a contributor to the early analysis of the data explored in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Language, Culture, and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Nana Osei-Kofi

  2. School of Education, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Lisette E. Torres

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  1. Nana Osei-Kofi
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  2. Lisette E. Torres
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Correspondence to Nana Osei-Kofi.

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Lead editor: A. Sharma.

Portions of the literature review included in this paper were published in Race, Ethnicity, and Education (“Practices of Whiteness”, February 2012). See Taylor & Francis, Copyright Permission, Sect. 3.2 Retained Rights).

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Osei-Kofi, N., Torres, L.E. College admissions viewbooks and the grammar of gender, race, and STEM. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 10, 527–544 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-014-9656-2

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