From Outsiders to Alongsiders: Rethinking Nexus Analysis and Centering Children and Youth’s Spatial Reclamation Practices in Discourses in Place (Poster 7)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Wednesday 10:50 a.m.
  In Poster Session: Advancing Mindful Anti-Oppression, Youth Engagement, and Visual Identity in Higher Education and Beyond

Abstract

Discourses in place often frame youth and children as disrupters of the nexus in practice. Our work, however, moves them from the edges to the center, acknowledging their nexus engagements as transformative and viewing youth as “alongsiders” rather than outsiders. Using ethnographic practices and nexus analysis, we examine the spatial reclamation practices of youth and children at a playground and community protest. Our data illustrates how these practices redefine the hegemonic framing of discourses in place, emphasizing their agency and desire for visibility. This approach advocates for education partners to pay attention to power dynamics in nexus analysis and recognize youth spatial reclamation as a way youth assert their identities, advocate for social change, and foster a sense of belonging.

Authors

• Casey M. Pennington, SUNY Cortland

• Amy Walker, Kent State University