Critical Narrative Methodologies as Sites for Challenging, Negotiating, and Reclaiming Bicultural Identities

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This session brings together Latina presenters from different ethnic backgrounds and citizenship status who conducted critical autobiographical inquiries and narrative studies over a semester to explore what does it mean to be Latina in the U.S. context. Framed by critical perspectives the session addresses some of the tensions and agentic moves Latina individuals and their families experience as they negotiate identity at the individual and the collective level. Intergenerational differences, educational experiences, and citizen status play a role in the ways Latinas conceptualize erasure, agency, and biculturalism. Collectively, the presentations highlight the role of critical autobiographical narratives, their content and their telling, to gain insights into the diverse and complex ways historically marginalized individuals negotiate and theorize identity.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Narrative and Research

Chair

• Carmen M. Martinez-Roldan, Teachers College, Columbia University

Papers

• Soy Un Amasamiento: A Critical Self-Narrative on Latina Identity Development in the United States - Diana K Cordova-Cobo, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Becoming Latina in the United States: Navigating a New Racial Order - Lucía Caumont Stipanicic, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Armonía con Una Palita de Conflicto: A Cuban and Puerto Rican Household as Bicultural - Martha Rosas, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Growing Old/Growing Up Gringa: Madres e Hijas Negotiate Puertorriqueñismo and Americanism in the Heartland - Maried Rivera Nieves, Bank Street College of Education

Discussant

• Sandra Quinones, Duquesne University