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  Nicole Jenkins, Ph.D.

Urban ethnographer

As a qualitative researcher, I incorporate intersectional and critical feminist frameworks into my own research, centering the experiences of women of color. ​ My current research project incorporates two years of ethnographic data collection in a Las Vegas African hair braiding salon. I discuss labor, identity making in the African diaspora, work-family balance, and the racialized politics of appearance for Black women. I find that Black women's identity-making process is complex and perceptions of nationhood and Black womeness often impede the process. I analyze the techniques used in the salon, by braiders and find that the unique labor provided in the salon is artistic, therapeutic, and reciprocal. The child-friendly space also allowed me to analyze how Black women define and carry-out work-family balance through utilization of the hybrid space. Lastly, I discuss the political aspects of choosing natural hair styles for both customers and braiders. These findings provide a look inside the lived experiences of women of African diaspora and insight into some of the most significant parts of their identities. 

Publications from this project:

“Distance in Diaspora: Contested Blackness in Black Women’s Identity Making in Contemporary U.S.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 
“Reclaiming Motherhood: How Black Mothers Do Mothering and Work-Family Balance.” In-Preparation.
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Course Offerings:
Principles of Ethnography (Graduate Series 1)
Ethnographic Fieldwork (Graduate Series 2)

Journal of contemperary  ethnography (2019)

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  • Home
  • Public Sociology
  • Urban Ethnographer
  • Teaching
  • Global CROWNS Research Project
  • Mothers of the Mecca Parent Research Project