Title: 
Headings: 
Running
 
Head:
 
URM
 
GRAD
 
STUDENTS
 
IN
 
STEM
 

Theoretical
 
Perspectives
 

Literature
 
Review
 

Discrimination
 
and
 
Cultural
 
Disconnect
 

White
 
individuals
 
attending
 
predominately
 
White
 
institutions,
 
URM
 
students
 
must
 
“continuously
 

Eurocentric
 
curriculum
 
that
 
does
 
not
 
recognize
 
the
 
contributions
 
URM
 
individuals
 
have
 
had
 
to
 

Relationships
 
with
 
Peers
 
and
 
Faculty
  

Methods
 

Data
 
Sources
 
and
 
Sample
 

Data
 
Analysis
 

Positionality
 
of
 
the
 
First
 
Author
 

Limitations
 

Findings
 

Feeling
 
“Different”:
 
A
 
Phenomenon
 
of
 
Underrepresentation
 

Exclusion
  

Conflict
  

The
 
Ambiguous
 
Nature
 
of
 
Experiences
 

Less
 
Ambiguous
 
Experiences
 
of
 
Discrimination
 

Discussion
 
and
 
Implications
 

References
 

Appendix
 
A:
 
Focus
 
Group
 
Questions
  

Pathways
 

Graduate
 
Experience
 

Identity
 

Career
 
Planning
 

Pseudonym
 
Sex
 
Race
 
Discipline
 


Content: As
 
such,
 
there
 
is
 
a
 
stark
 
power
 
differential
 
between
 
individuals
 
of
 
different
 
racial
 
backgrounds
 
which
 
perpetuates
 
very
 
different
 
lived
 
experiences
 
across
 
racial
 
lines
 
(McQuillan,
 
1998; Harper,
 
2012; Espino,
 
2012). Power
 
(who
 
has
 
a
 
significant
 
amount
 
of
 
it
 
and
 
who
 
has
 
a
 
great
 
deal
 
less)
 
plays
 
an
 
important
 
role
 
in
 
critical
 
perspectives. Abrams
 
(1993),
 
a
 
critical
 
feminist
 
scholar,
 
advances
 
two
 
important
 
notions
 
regarding
 
dominant
 
groups
 
in
 
society
 
and
 
the
 
power
 
they
 
hold
 
in
 
shaping
 
perceptions
 
and
 
the
 
treatment
 
of
 
people
 
from
 
subordinate
 
groups. First,
 
she
 
asserts
 
that
 
people
 
who
 
hold
 
positions
 
of
 
dominance
 
have
 
the
 
power
 
to
 
make
 
their
 
perspective
 
normative; that
 
is,
 
their
 
perspectives
 
are
 
accepted
 
as
 
objective
 
and
 
accurate
 
portrayals
 
of
 
life
 
(Abrams,
 
1993). Similarly
 
those
 
in
 
the
 
dominant
 
group
 
have
 
the
 
power
 
to
 
characterize
 
those
 
in
 
subordinate
 
groups
 
in
 
ways
 
that
 
are
 
marginalizing
 
and
 
disempowering. Dominant
 
perspectives
 
and
 
definitions
 
of
 
people
 
are
 
perpetuated
 
precisely
 
because
 
they
 
are
 
treated
 
not
 
as
 
a
 
point
 
of
 
view,
 
but
 
as
 
fact. Translated
 
to
 
the
 
context
 
of
 
STEM
 
graduate
 
programs
 
faculty,
 
and
 
to
 
a
 
lesser
 
but
 
still
 
significant
 
extent
 
students,
 
hold
 
varying
 
positions
 
of
 
power.