Image: Dr. Sacha Sharp presented her unique and innovative interdisciplinary research to understand and assess the impact of digital identity and expression among Black women graduate students to the McBee IHE community. Her work breaks ground for its exploration of digital identity, its use of social media as a data source, its singular and non-comparative focus on Black women, and its use of dramaturgy as a methodology. Sharp's prior coursework in informatics and media theory enabled the complex data collection and analysis work required for her study. She scrapped and coded data from nearly 30,000 social media posts, and she partnered those results with individual questionnaires completed by participants. From the posts and questionnaires, she developed cast descriptions. With a chronological overlay, she compiled the posts into dialog for a three act play among five women. The finished work produced reimagined conversations in the women’s own words around their pursuit of excellence, civic and social engagement, and restorative growth. Based on findings, she recommends that institutions and programs should embrace social media as a space to affirm and support Black women. She encourages others to follow her lead and create virtual mentorship opportunities. Sharp also invites scholars to contribute to fledgling research on digital identity formation. Dr. Sharp’s full presentation is available on the MIHE YouTube channel. Sacha Sharp is an assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Sharp's dissertation received the 2021 Selma Greenberg Outstanding Dissertation Award from Division J of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). The event was presented as part of the McBee Institute's Critical Perspectives on Race series and part of the Women's Studies Program's Women's History Month series. Dr. Amy Stich moderated the session. Type of News/Audience: General News
