Class, Commodification and First-gen Identity Virtual Town Hall

This town-hall style session invites summit participants to join in conversation about the challenges and possibilities around naming and representation in first-gen student support in higher education. This virtual dialogue will be a space to connect with the first-gen summit community to exchange ideas about emerging identity issues related to the first-generation college experience across institutional contexts. Moderated by Claude Taylor, summit advisory committee member, some questions explored in the session will be (1) How have definitions of first-gen identity been constructed? Who is centered in these definitions? (2) What other social or cultural forces are at work in first-gen advocacy and support? (3) In what ways can first-gen advocates guard against the possible commodification of first-gen student identity?