Nepantla in Engineering: Latino/a/x Students Confronting Normative Gender and Ethnic Expectations in Engineering Spaces

• In Event: Equity, Inclusion, and Ethics in Engineering and Computing Education

Abstract

In this paper, I use the concept of nepantla to demonstrate the ways in which Latino/a/x engineering students explore their sociopolitical experiences and come to terms with their lived realities straddling separate worlds. I also use these concepts to demonstrate the inner agency of these students and the ways in which they reject dominant discourses as they move through their engineering programs. This research provides a description of how “surface actions” create long-lasting impacts on engineering students. Implications of this study suggest that recognizing these actions and creating awareness may serve to help engineering educators identify the ways in which sociopolitical forces are (re)enacted, perpetuated, but also challenged in the classroom, in common spaces, and in research.

Author

• Joel Alejandro Mejia, University of Cincinnati