Freedom Dreaming as an Expansion of Knowing: A Third-Wave Development Theory

Abstract: An asset-based approach to studying underrep-resented and minoritized communities, freedom dreaming can be applied in student affairs research and practice. After tracing the lineages of intellectual development and self-authorship, freedom dreaming is offered as a third-wave knowledge system. In this study, the impact of freedom dreaming on college students’ development was centered by 13 nonbinary BIPOC students from various institution types and regions. Co-researchers asserted that freedom dreaming had an impact on them, enjoyed flipping the script to reimagine the world rather than dwell on oppression, reveled in community, reflected throughout the study, and integrated freedom dreaming into their daily lives. These themes demonstrated a unique impact on students’ development, namely how they cultivated their imaginations, with new forms of knowledge and knowing. Envisioning better worlds empowered them to turn away from current dystopias and ideate their personal and collective utopias. Freedom dreaming should be considered as a framework for future student development and queer and trans higher education research.