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. 2023 Dec 21:10.1037/dhe0000549.
doi: 10.1037/dhe0000549. Online ahead of print.

Counterspaces as a Site of Network Formation within Academia

Cara Margherio  1 , Anna Lee Swan  2 , M Claire Horner-Devine  3   4 , Sheri J Y Mizumori  5 , Joyce W Yen  3
Affiliations

Counterspaces as a Site of Network Formation within Academia

Cara Margherio et al. J Divers High Educ. .

Abstract

Within higher education, professional networks are critical to faculty success. Prior research on the networks of faculty belonging to marginalized groups has taken a deficit model perspective, focusing on limited access to and structural exclusion from professional networks. We counter this deficit perspective, shifting the research to examine how network ties-the relationships between individuals within a network-form within counterspaces. Counterspaces are settings in which individuals belonging to systemically marginalized groups exchange support and share resources. Using interview data, we find the interactions occurring within the counterspace setting of the Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators in NeuroScience (BRAINS) program allowed participants to recognize their shared values around diversity, equity, and inclusion, which in turn facilitated the formation of trusting network ties. In addition, we find that the development of these network ties positively impacted interviewees' understanding of and approach to networks and networking beyond the BRAINS counterspace.

Keywords: counterspaces; critical race theory; networking; value homophily.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Foundational components in BRAINS that establish a counterspace for participants. The counterspace community is established in either an immersive in-person Fellows Symposium or Affiliates Virtual Workshop Series (VWS). The relationships are strengthened and participants’ experiences continue to be validated through PCCs with individuals from the same Fellows or Affiliates cohort.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Model of counterspaces processes leading to the recognition of value homophily, which develops strong network ties within the counterspace that then influence external networking. The orange circles represent individuals within the counterspace, the dotted arrows represent the interactions leading to value homophily recognition, the bolded lines represent strong network ties, and the non-bolded lines represent other network ties.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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