Borderland Composing on the "College Track": First-Generation, Latina Students Engaging in Multimodal, Translingual, and Culturally Sustaining Literacies

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session Seven
  In Roundtable Session: Multilingual and Multimodal Literacies Within and Beyond the Classroom (Table 5)

Abstract

The pathway to college writing is paved in white-normative, English-centric expectations that make it precarious for first-generation and linguistically and racially minoritized students. In this study, I used participatory and ethnographic methods to investigate the intertwined literacies and identities of eight first-gen, Latina students on the “college track.” Analysis of our collectively-produced data, rooted in Gloria Anzaldúa’s theorization of Borderlands, revealed how participants engaged in multimodal, translingual, and culturally sustaining composing that spanned cultural and linguistic boundaries as they navigated the transition to college, even when such practices were sidelined by “college track” curriculum. These students’ “Borderland Composing” practices suggest the importance of centering boundary-crossing, identity-affirming writing, art, and media-making in the creation of an equitable and accessible college-track literacy curriculum.

Author

• Bethany Monea, University of the District of Columbia
  Presenting Author