A Living Curriculum of Orgullo

• In Event: 49.027 - Advancing Testimonio in Curriculum Theory: Hispanophone-Subaltern-Indigenous Cultural Traditions in International Contexts

Abstract

Starting from an understanding of identity as a complex and multilayered construct that an individual constantly revises and adjusts, this paper proposes the creation of a bridge between learning spaces and the need to recognize and harbor the self as an infinite creation. The authors argue for the formation and promotion of a living curriculum based on one’s lived experiences (Kissling, 2012). They contend the necessity to provide all individuals the opportunity to express who they are and how they have shaped their personal and cultural identity. Such opportunities allow them the occasion required so that each individual can explore his or her space in the world in order to claim a place and become part of the political and democratic process. By becoming empowered in claiming what is necessary for one’s realization, individuals will consequently create and promote change in the world.

Utilizing Chicana feminist epistemologies (Delgado Bernal, 1998), theories, and methodologies based on Gloria Anzaldúa’s (1987) concepts of mestiza consciousness and Nepantla, and in conjunction with autobiographical methods in curriculum studies (Pinar, Reynolds, Slattery & Taubman, 1995), the authors postulate the embodiment of a living curriculum of orgullo in order to offer a way for individuals, especially latin@s -but also relevant to other minoritized groups- to define and claim their place, voice their needs, and express their concerns in the present context of the United States. A living curriculum of orgullo might start by giving one’s testimonio. Testimonio is a pivotal pedagogical tool that allows a person to critically reflect on the systematic abuses that one endures due to social inequalities that are embedded in a hegemonic dominant rhetoric that persists on marginalizing and erasing those that do not conform or fit the predescribed normalizing categories. As a pedagogical tool, when using testimonio in classrooms or for educational purposes, it is also a mean of resistance and claiming one’s place. Hence, testimonio functions as a bridge (Moraga & Anzaldúa, 1981) to connect the personal to the political and solidify the presence of marginalized groups and legitimize their voices and positionalities.

References

Anzaldúa, G. E. (1987) Borderlands/La Frontera: The new mestiza. San Francisco: Aunt Lute
Cherrie, M., & Anzaldúa, G. (1981). This bridge called my back: Writings by radical women of color. NY: Kitchen table.

Delgado Bernal, D. (1998) Using a Chicana feminist epistemology in educational research. Harvard Educational Review, 68(4), 555-583.

Pinar, W. F., Reynolds, W. M., Slattery, P., & Taubman, P. M. (1995) Understanding Curriculum. An Introduction to the Study of Historical and Contemporary Curriculum Discourses. Counterpoints: Studies in the Postmodern Theory of Education, Vol 17. NY: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Authors

• Freyca Calderon-Berumen, Texas Christian University

• Karla O'Donald, Texas Christian University