When Assistant Sociology Professor Jennifer Lena began teaching Sociology of Hip-Hop four years ago, she started each semester with a question.

"The first year I was teaching, I asked people what they thought of me," Lena said. "What conclusions do you draw?"

As a young white woman researching hip-hop, Lena has encountered firsthand the effects of stereotypes in the community and at Vanderbilt.

"I used to feel, during the first couple of semesters, like students were surprised by me. The reaction was clear," sheexplained. "Oh my God, you're a white girl."

Lena, who found herself defending her legitimacy as a hip-hop sociologist, said she anticipated and welcomed this reaction.

"It is something I expect, something I respect and something I deserve," said Lena. "As a white person, I don't have to answer very many questions about my background, my credibility or my right to exist. African-Americans, Latinos - they get asked these questions every day."

Lena explained that she is frequently asked to assert her credibility through her biography and knowledge.

As a graduate student, Lena explained that she was challenged in ways she never expected. Giving tours to a primarily African-American audience at the Brooklyn Museum of Art during her fifth year of graduate school, Lena faced criticism for her choice in research. It made her re-evaluate her role as an educator and a person.

"The first time I did one of those tours, I was doing it for free, but I faced a lot of criticism," Lena said. "It was so frightening and humbling."

Lena said she had always thought of herself as someone who understood whiteness, but that changed.

"It was terrifying to look at myself in the mirror," she said. "I felt so ashamed that I hadn't asked myself those questions (about my legitimacy as a sociologist) before."

Lena said she had to come to terms with the fact that she had been rejoicing - though subconsciously - in her own academic stature.

"It felt the way it always feels when you are confronted with your own prestige," she said. "At a fundamental level, you have been rejoicing in it for so long, you feel like a hypocrite.

"I had these ideas that I was reading books by the smartest people, but this scaled back my enthusiasm. I realized there were a lot people that were just as smart that I would never get a chance to study because they would never get a chance to write," Lena said.

Even after teaching for eight semesters, she continues to actively question her own expertise and sees her job as a rewarding challenge, and she said the experience has made her a better teacher.

"The experience affected me in every way," Lena said. "It isn't simple at all. It caused me to question the value of non-professional expertise in a classroom."

When parents, students and other members of the community question the validity of her research, Lena has a simple answer.

"I teach sociology. I don't teach hip-hop. I teach innovation, organization and deeper understanding."

It is for this reason that, when Lena asks her students to consider what they see in her on the first day of class, she welcomes all responses.

Lena explained that after hearing what her students had to say she would tell them a little bit about herself.

"My uncle is an African-American. He is a prominent artist that deals with African-American themes," Lena said. "I'd ask them, ‘Does that change the way you see me?' Does it matter that my uncle is an African-American?"

Lena said the question has a simple answer: "Of course it does. How could it not?"

Part of her mission as a sociologist, she said, is to get students beyond the simple treatment of race in society.

Jon Cochran, a graduate student in the sociology department who served as a teaching assistant for Lena's class last semester, explained that Lena's dedication and enthusiasm in helping people learn is evident.

"I could see how much she cares," Cochran said.

For Lena, the constant self-questioning and re-evaluating is part of the package.

"I had great parents who encouraged me to believe the world wasn't easy," Lena said. "They didn't remove obstacles."

Lena feels that watching students grow intellectually is more than enough of a reward for a job she sees as a gratifying challenge.