What Does It Mean to Be Rural? An Ethnographic Study of New Latino Diaspora Nebraska

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: The Meaning of Place in Rural Education

Abstract

In mainstream discourse, rural generally implies white. However, what happens when ‘rural’ communities experience demographic change? This paper examines how students from a rural, New Latino Diaspora community in Nebraska complicate traditional notions of rurality. Data from participant observations and ethnographic interviews indicate that students have redefined rurality due to an alternative youth subculture influenced by incoming Latino students from cities in Mexico, Guatemala, and California. They contrast this with the stereotypical subcultures they observe in neighboring, rural, majority-white communities. Demographically transitioning, rural schools present unique contexts for students to encounter their own privilege and learn to leverage it to further the aims of social justice and democracy. However, this will not occur without explicit planning, reflection, and teacher training.

Author

• Jessica Sierk, St. Lawrence University