Transforming the Culture of Academia One Classroom at a Time: Testimonio of a Latina Junior Faculty Member Engaging in Latina Critical Pedagogical Activism

Abstract

Inspired by the work of Chicana feminist scholars, the author narrates her process of academic awakening and survival by illustrating how testimonio can be utilized as a pedagogical tool within the classroom. She introduces the concept of Latina Critical Pedagocial Activism (LCPA) and its’ four tenets—centralización, epistemological engagement, educonfianza, and lengua resistencia—as a tool to be utilized by Latina faculty. LCPA serves a pedagogical framework faculty could utilize to validate their experiences in the classroom, while simultaneously communicating to Latinx students that their culture matters; that they belong and deserve to be in academia. Together, students and faculty disrupt hegemonic schooling practices by centering non-white ways of knowing, learning, and teaching.

Latinx Authorship and Representation in Digital Spaces: Wikipedia as a Tool to Decolonize the HSI Classroom

“…The larger project of colonization in the institution of education not only narrows the parameters of what counts as knowledge but also which populations and histories warrant being centered in the college classroom (Alberto, 2017;García-Louis, 2019;Urrieta, 2017;Urrieta et al, 2019). Our students' work is a stark reminder that "power is exerted, resisted, and yielded to in every classroom; every classroom is situated within an institution, state, and nation-all locations in which resources, knowledge, and access must be negotiated" (Seward, 2019, p. 2).…”

“…Likewise, teaching is a service, one that should aim to decolonize pedagogical practices (Garcia, 2019;Garcia et al, 2019;Garcia & Okhidoi, 2015;García-Louis, 2019;Nuñez et al, 2010). Traditional teaching practices do not serve all students, and certainly not Latinx students in college contexts.…”

“…(p. 3) Adopting a decolonial approach in classroom practice can enable Latinx students to center their experiences and validate their cultures, which has been long ignored in scholarship and the college classroom in general (Cuadraz, 2005;R. Garcia, 2018;García-Louis, 2019).…”

Suficiente, Enough: Reckoning With the Complexities of a Colonial Past That Racializes LatinXs as MestizXs

“…Coloniality pairs power and intelligence with whiteness, which in turn has resulted in the global movement to protect whiteness at all costs (Laò-Montes, 2005;Quijano, 2007;Rahier, 2004). Within education, it manifests through the use of racial statistics to track learning (Zuberi, 2001), school funding formulas (Kauffman, 2019), forms of instruction and pedagogy (García-Louis, 2019;Valencia, 2010), and the institutional structure itself (Ray, 2019). The safeguards placed on knowledge formation not only restrict LatinX student's ability to learn about their history, but it also shackles their ability to develop a strong sense of identity and cultural pride.…”

“…The colonial past is tied to what is taught in schools, where marginalized students are forced to assimilate into an "American" ideal that centers whiteness (Smith, 2012). Early on, children are indoctrinated into believing that race is directly linked to self-worth, intelligence, and their future possibilities (García-Louis, 2019;Valencia, 2010;Zuberi, 2001). There is no escaping this messaging as popular media, the news, beauty standards, and school curriculums all reinforce a White European ideal.…”