Being a black woman in university teaching in the natural sciences: Narratives of existence and re(existence)

Abstract

This article is an excerpt from research that investigates the autobiographical narratives of black women university professors in the field of natural sciences in their life journeys, research and training. The study is guided by the contributions of autobiographical research, an approach that recognizes self-writing, autobiographies and narratives as artifacts for reinventing cultural, political and historical meanings of concrete reality. Therefore, the narrative of a black woman scientist and research professor in the field of natural sciences, explored as one of the stages of this research, enables us to weave more powerful understandings about the intersections of race, gender and class in university teaching and in life/profession itineraries in the face of the historical constraints faced by black women doing science. In short, this work is organized as follows: 1) notes on the relevance of the discussion of gender, race and class in science education; 2) presentation of a conceptual overview of autobiographical research and its political dimension; 3) A brief history of women's movements and the emergence of feminist epistemologies and black feminism; 4) Reflections on life, narratives and views on racial asymmetries and the condition of black women in university teaching in the natural sciences.