Kerrie Lynn Agosta
UW Honors Graduates
Kerrie Lynn Agosta

Anthropology
Designation: Departmental Honors
Honors Grads 2018/2019
Proudest Moment: I believe it will be the moment of hold in my hands the declaration of my completion of achieving my bachelor's degree !
Thesis: Bursting the Bubble: Transforming White Identities
I returned to college after a 31 year hiatus of raising a family four in 2013. I was at point in my life where I wanted to grow in ways that would challenge me in every sense of my being. It has been an incredible learning experience and I have been enriched in the academic soil of coursework that has literally transformed my life. Having the opportunity to experience Dr. Rachel Chapman's Alter/Native Anthropology course ushered in a profound intersection in my life where the exposure of my own "White Fragility" (DiAngelo, 56). in response to uncomfortable conversations around racial topics and privilege plowed into my identity as a white woman. It was the beginning of a deeper education of my ignorance and a revelation of the isolated reality my Whiteness had afforded me. My conscientious determination to push past fear and move deeper into vulnerable relationships with students of color allowed me to stay connected and do the work that was necessary to create new forms of engagement. The willingness on the part of people of color in my life at the time to move in relationship with me through the difficulty of sharing their stories allowed me to see outside of my own experiences and gain a new kind of knowing. What emerged relationally was profound; students worked through their own positionality within identified constructs of people groups and where together we examined intersections of power and oppression in our own lives through a lens of indigenous scholarship within the discipline of anthropology.
I wanted to understand how whiteness was affecting communities of color in my predominately white community of Bainbridge Island. This led me to purse the opportunity to apply to the departmental honors program in which I was able to continue to pursue an auto-ethnographic collaborative research project in my community in which I ask the questions “Can, and if so, where, when and how are white identities transformed from positions of White Fragility and White Supremacy into identities and relationships with People of Color of solidarity, allyship, accompliceship and race-traitorship in denouncing white privilege in order to create a culture that is equitable and inclusive for all people? ” My research has allowed me to examine how radical social justice education and cross-racial relationship building impacts individual and community identity transformation in respect to racial equity. I am committed to following this work in my community and am inspired by the faith that I see in other community members who are dedicated to the heartwork that is necessary to forge a culture that is more loving and just for all.
Robin Di Angelo, “White Fragility” International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, vol. 3. no. 3. 2011, catalyst.uw.edu/workspace/file/download/7efed96ce7ca56e0747e7fffd69e8465f6d5a5451eb4b0ff3be81dabe33f1a34?inline=. (Accessed Nov. 14, 2017) 56.