Using Testimonios to Explore the Role Social and Political Structures Have in Shaping Emotions

• In Event: Race, Gender, and Education

Abstract

This paper explored how Cami, a Latina high school student, utilized a form of narrative known as testimonio to explore the role social and political structures had in influencing her emotions. Letting two of Cami’s testimonios speak for themselves (Treviño, García, & Bybee, 2017), I analyzed how Cami transitioned from a micro to macro perspective (Collins, 1988, 1981) in the way she connected her own lived experiences to the interactions Latinas/os have with systems and structures in the United States. The shift in perspective Cami demonstrated shows how Latina/o/x students can use testimonio as a tool to explore and understand the role social and political structures have in influencing the emotions that surface from individual and collective experiences.

Author

• Jose Ortiz, SUNY - Cortland