Haciendo Caras en Espacios Coyunturales: Bridging to Create Spaces of Resistance, Spaces of Healing

• In Event: Constructing Possibilities: New Directions in Social Studies Research and Practice for Racial Justice

Abstract

In this paper we conceptualize espacios coyunturales or bridged spaces, as interstices of resistance as we analyze traditions of resistance in la frontera. We write this paper to dive into the histories of teachers who have resisted and created strategies to fight against racism and sexism in the past as a way to remind teachers today of their power and influence in their classrooms. We begin this examination by analyzing the work of Gloria Anzaldúa and applying her contributions to the sociopolitical context of the present. Additionally, we will examine women teacher activists situated in the RGV of the past and present through local archival research. Finally, we reflect on the past to imagine new possibilities for the future.

Authors

• Brittney L. Thornton-Guzman, Relay Graduate School of Education

• Ana Carolina Diaz Beltran, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley