AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Andrea Evelyn Haverkamp for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering presented on January 22, 2021. Title: Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Undergraduate Engineering Students: Perspectives, Resiliency, and Suggestions for Improving Engineering Education Abstract approved: ______________________________________________________ Michelle K. Bothwell Gender has been the subject of study in engineering education and science social research for decades. However, little attention has been given to transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) experiences or perspectives. The role of cisgender or gender conforming status has not been investigated nor considered in prevailing frameworks of gender dynamics in engineering. The overwhelming majority of literature in the field remains within a reductive gender binary. TGNC students and professionals are largely invisible in engineering education research and theory and this exclusion causes harm to individuals as well as our community as a whole. Such exclusion is not limited to engineering contexts but is found to be a central component of systemic TGNC marginalization in higher education and in the United States. This dissertation presents literature analysis and results from a national research project which uses queer theory and community collaborative feminist methodologies to record, examine, and share the diversity of experiences within the TGNC undergraduate engineering student community, and to further generate community-informed suggestions for increased support and inclusion within engineering education programs. Transgender and gender nonconforming participants and researchers were involved at every phase of the study. An online questionnaire, follow-up interviews, and virtual community input provided insight into TGNC experiences in engineering contexts, with relationships between race, gender, ability, and region identified. Gender experiences were perceived as different from cisgender peers. Participants formed supportive communities outside of engineering contexts which bolstered their success. Online spaces and political involvement were persistent themes. TGNC students suggest educational initiatives, classroom practices, cultural change, and continued research to be performed. Malicious responders to the questionnaire, in addition to valid TGNC responders, were identified and analyzed with the objective of gaining critical insight into ideologies and rhetoric underpinning bias against TGNC individuals in engineering education. These responses were coded thematically and interpreted through a queer, trans, and antifascist lens. Respondents who targeted this questionnaire demonstrated characteristics associated with contemporary white nationalist radicalization online and across geek and nerd communities. Further research on political identity formation in engineering education alongside political education initiatives on gender and social justice are needed. Keywords: gender, transgender, engineering education, resiliency, LGBTQ+, research methods ©Copyright by Andrea Evelyn Haverkamp January 22, 2021 All Rights Reserved Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Undergraduate Engineering Students: Perspectives, Resiliency, and Suggestions for Improving Engineering Education by Andrea Evelyn Haverkamp A DISSERTATION submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Presented January 22, 2021 Commencement June 2021 Doctor of Philosophy dissertation of Andrea Evelyn Haverkamp presented on January 22, 2021 APPROVED: Major Professor, representing Environmental Engineering Head of the School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my dissertation will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my dissertation to any reader upon request. Andrea Evelyn Haverkamp, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Behind every dissertation is an entire community of support. I would not be submitting this document, or working towards completion of our National Science Foundation grant, without the support of my major and minor professors Dr. Michelle Bothwell, Dr. Devlin Montfort, and Dr. Qwo-Li Driskill. I met each of these wonderful humans in 2015 – during my Master’s program, a baby queer and first gen confused grad student. I cannot stress enough – I would not be the person I am today, in every sense, without their patience, mentorship, critique and compassion. Moshe Mantle has been my rock throughout. He workshopped the NSF grant proposal from conception towards completion with me, listened to me kvetch while walking Spaghetti, and gave care to my mental, academic, and physical distresses (of which there were many). Grace, my mother, has been my champion throughout my life. She continues to motivate me to be my best and stay authentic to myself – and also call bullshit when I see it! Seriously, couldn’t ask for a better role model. Love you so much. To our labor union –Coalition of Graduate Employees, AFT-OR Local 6069. I am beyond words at how this community brought me joy and life throughout my employment at Oregon State University. The union taught me so many things about solidarity, mutual aid, organizing, and recognizing how labor is an anti-racist anti-oppression struggle. It has been the joy of my lifetime to be involved in class struggle with you all. I hope to keep organizing. Friends! Mars, Pablo, Tali, Alex, Sara, Teo, Auna, Alaina, John. There are too many to name, but y’all are special and have been essential to my survival throughout the past 5 years. This dissertation was conducted upon colonized land. Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, is located within the traditional homelands of the Mary’s River or Ampinefu Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855, Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (grandronde.org) and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians (ctsi.nsn.us). I acknowledge the support by the National Science Foundation by grant EEC-1764103. This funding was essential for the project, rent, Interzone coffee, and treats for Spaghetti. CONTRIBUTION OF AUTHORS Professors Michelle Bothwell, Devlin Montfort, and Qwo-Li Driskill contributed to review, edits, restructuring, and mentorship throughout. Each of these papers is a draft of a paper manuscript resulting from the NSF grant which we are engaged in, and all are co-authors. When the words “we, us, team” appear in the dissertation, and the word “paper” instead of chapter, it is in reference to this collective research effort. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1 General Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 2 Calling for a Paradigm Shift in the Study of Gender in Engineering Education .............. 6 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 6 Background .............................................................................................................. 7 Gender in Engineering Education Research ....................................................... 7 Gender and Engineering Culture ........................................................................ 7 TGNC Voices in Engineering Education Research ........................................... 9 Overview of TGNC Experiences in Society……………………........….……. 11 Limitations of the Dominant Research Paradigm ................................................... 13 Gender Binary Framing..................................................................................... 14 Extrapolating TGNC Experiences from Umbrella LGBTQ+ Studies .............. 15 Intersectionality and Gender ............................................................................ 16 Shifting the Paradigm ............................................................................................. 17 Gender Concepts .............................................................................................. 18 Queer Theory and Trans Studies ...................................................................... 20 Towards Gender Expansive Engineering Education Research .............................. 22 Micro-level interventions ................................................................................. 23 Meso-level Interventions .................................................................................. 25 Narrative and Community-based Methods ................................................ 25 Resiliency Frameworks .............................................................................. 28 Macro-level Interventions ................................................................................ 29 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 31 3 TGNC Undergraduate Students in Engineering Education: Experiences, Community, and Suggestions ................................................................................................................. 33 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 33 Background