Running head: ANALYZING SELF-AUTHORSHIP THROUGH A CRITICAL RACE LENS 1

Analyzing Self-Authorship Through a Critical Race Lens

Joshua Hutchinson

Northern Illinois University

ANALYZING SELF-AUTHORSHIP THROUGH A CRITICAL RACE LENS 2

Introduction

The study of student development is teaming with excitement and innovation. As new

students continuously flow onto college campuses the need to challenge previously made

standards and conceptions about how students develop during their academic careers is ever

prevalent. However, too often this innovation operates within, and is based off of pre-

constructed notions of what student identity looks like. These pre-constructed ideas raise the

questions of who are student development theories created around, and whom do they benefit?

This paper aims to answer these questions by analyzing Baxter Magolda’s self-authorship

theory through the lens of critical race theory. In this paper, I will introduce the theory of self-

authorship and its four phases. I will also introduce critical race theory and its six tenants. Then

I will examine how self-authorship addresses the six tenants of critical race theory in order to

determine how, if at all, self-authorship centers the concept of race within student development,

and how this analysis can be used to adapt self-authorship theory to better serve students of

various racial identities.

Self-Authorship Theory

Self-authorship was created by Marcia Baxter Magolda, based on a longitudinal study of

101 college students’ development throughout their college experience and studied 30 of these

same students till they were in their thirties (Patton, Renn, Guido, & Quaye, 2010). The

transitions that these individuals made throughout their academic careers and then throughout

their lives beyond college provided the foundation for the theory. Self-authorship centers around

an individual’s development of meaning making, primarily focusing on how they define

themselves, their values, their place in society, and their desires in life (Patton et al., 2010).
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Baxter Magolda maps out the journey towards self-authorship, moving from external to internal

creations of self-definition, through four phases: following formulas, crossroads, self-authorship,

and internal foundations (Patton et al., 2010).

The first phase, following formulas, is characterized by individuals adhering to the plans

laid out for them by others, allowing external entities to determine how they think and relying on

others to define their self-worth (Patton et al., 2010). When individuals begin to experience

conflicts or disagreements with these external formulas they enter the crossroads phase. During

this phase, they begin to challenge external authorities and start towards creating their own ideas

and definitions. Once individuals have created their own definitions and beliefs they enter the

self-authorship phase. During this phase individuals live out their newly formed beliefs, and are

not as easily influenced by external formulas (Patton et al. 2010). After achieving self-

authorship and establishing their own beliefs individuals enter the final phase, internal

foundation. In the last phase, individuals create systems of belief that are built upon strong

internal foundations and are not influenced by external factors (Patton et al., 2010). While these

phases are outlined in a sequential order they often function in a cyclical fashion and susceptible

to interruptions cause by contextual shifts.

Critical Race Theory

To critique self-authorship theory’s effectiveness when applied to students of varying

identities, we will apply the lens of critical race theory. Critical race theory started as a

movement within the legal field which aimed to place race at the center of studying the law and

the foundations it was built upon, asking the question: “Whose interests are served?” (Jones &

Abes, 2013, p. 172). Since its conception critical race theory (CRT) has been applied to the field

of postsecondary and higher education. By centering race and focusing on the voices of
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marginalized, minoritized, and oppressed groups, CRT provides insight into “the influence of

race and racism within educational systems” (Jones & Abes, 2013). To effectively analyze this

influences CRT implements five core tenants: racism is ordinary, interest convergence, social

construction and differential racialization, intersectionality and anti-essentialism, and

counterstorytelling (Jones & Abes, 2013).

The first tenant of CRT is that racism is ordinary, occurs every day, and isn’t acted out in

flashy and easy to identify ways. CRT argues that racism is systemic, supported by social

constructs, and regularly overlooked. The second tenant, interest convergence, argues that when

policies or behaviors that benefit people of color are put in place it is because white people will

also benefit from them (Jones & Abes, 2013). Third, social construction and differential

racialization identifies that race is a fictitious concept created and upheld by society, and that

racial identity and constructs are changed frequently to benefit the ideas of the majority (Jones &

Abes, 2013). Intersectionality and anti-essentialism, the fourth tenant of CRT, states that

individuals hold many identities that overlap and affect one another, and emphasis that while

race plays a key role in identity it should not be the sole focus (Jones & Abes, 2013). Lastly,

CRT requires counterstorytelling. The use of counterstories plays a vital role in disrupting the

narratives of the majority, and challenging dominant social constructs that marginalize people of

color.

Critical Critique

When analyzing self-authorship through the lens of CRT, there is one core fundamental

difference between the two. Self-authorship centers the individual and their progress towards

internal self-definitions, while CRT centers race and the impact that racial identity plays within

society. From this initial analysis, it would appear that self-authorship is incapable of working
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alongside CRT. While there are disparities between the two, there is also potential for

collaboration.

CRT is founded on asking “whose interests are served” (Jones & Abes, 2013, p. 172). To

answer this question, the origins of self-authorship theory need to be analyzed. Baxter

Magolda’s longitudinal study observed students from Miami University, a predominantly white

institution, and consisted primarily of white students (Patton et al., 2010). By knowing this it is

understood that self-authorship was founded within the constructs of a predominantly white

institution and is dominated by white individuals, which means that self-authorship theory as a

base concept does not take race into consideration when it addresses student development. By

not addressing race and racial identity self-authorship puts itself at odds with CRT and fails to

acknowledge the effects that these identities have on people of color’s developmental journey.

CRT’s tenant of racism as an ordinary part of society, coupled with the tenant of race

being socially constructed and differential racialization would be classified as external formulas

within self-authorship theory. However, both of these tenants are fundamental in the creation of

an individual’s racial identity and the implementation of CRT (Jones & Abes, 2013). That

understood, when an individual reaches the final two phases of self-authorship theory, they are

no longer supposed to be influenced by external formulas. As a result, they would not be able to

further develop their identity within the socially constructed idea of race.

While this sounds like a very damning critique for self-authorship, there is evidence to

show that the presence of the external formulas of racism and social constructs of race actually

encourage and expedites the development of self-authorship. While the original study that

founded self-authorship was heavily influenced by white individuals, Baxter Magolda along with

other student development researchers has since studied self-authorship development within
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more diverse populations (Patton et al., 2010). Patton, Renn, Guido, and Quaye (2010) reference

several studies that mostly focused on latinx students and how conflicts caused by the

perpetuation of stereotypes and cultural oppression forced students into the crossroads phase and

on into self-authorship. While this stands as a contradiction to the previous paragraph, it also

demonstrates that self-authorship theory is capable of serving people of color as they develop

their definitions of self-worth, while combating societal oppression and simply needs some

adjustment in order to better center race and racial issues in its model.

Lastly, the self-authorship and internal foundation phases lend themselves well to

supporting the final tenant of CRT, counterstorytelling. In both of these phases, the individual is

comfortable and confident within their understandings of their identities and their concept of

self-worth (Patton et al., 2010). Individuals in these phases of self-authorship are said to act out

their beliefs, and can become influencers for others. These traits have the potential to create

advocates who are confident and comfortable enough in their identity to share their story

regardless of what external entities may think of it. In other words, self-authorship can create

counterstorytellers, who are then able to affect change and continue the work of CRT.

Conclusion

While self-authorship theory is widely accepted and highly influential within student

development, it has some short coming when analyzed through the lens of critical race theory.

Founded upon a study held at a predominantly white institution and consisting of a majority of

white individuals, self-authorship does little to consider the effects of race and racial identity on

student development. However, traits of self-authorship can and have been identified in the

development of people of color when conflicts surrounding their racial and ethnic identity arise.

Self-authorship also lends itself to the creation of counterstorytellers who contribute to the
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perpetuation of racial awareness and CRT. While adjustments need to be made to self-

authorship for it to better align with CRT, there are foundational concepts that aid in the support

of student development within populations of color.

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References

Jones, S. R., & Abes, E. S. (2013). Identity development of college students: Advancing

frameworks for multiple dimensions of identity. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Patton, L. D., Renn, K. A., Guido, F. M., & Quaye, S. J. (2010). Student development in college:

Theory, research, and practice. (3rd Edition) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.