Pedagogical Nepantla: Discomfort and Healing in an Undergraduate Ethnic Studies Course

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 1:45 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Place-Based Educational Ontologies: Teaching for Justice, Remedy, and Repair (Table 8)

Abstract

Messages of assimilation and hegemonic ways of being, promoted by U.S. educational systems, are often internalized by students of color. Utilizing convivencia and methodological nepantla as theoretical frameworks, this study examines students' experiences and healing processes in an undergraduate Ethnic Studies course. To better understand the experiences of predominantly first-generation students of color, pláticas were conducted. Students’ testimonies revealed the dual nature of discomfort and growth within a pedagogical nepantla. Pedagogical nepantla explores the pedagogical decisions that created a learning environment in which students felt safe to share and navigate deeply rooted ideas of assimilation. Findings suggest that the convivencia among students fostered conversations that encouraged healing, as students navigated painful realizations in a move toward patience and self-love.

Authors

• Paula Sevilla, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Lupita Romo-González, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Fátima Andrade Martínez, University of California - Santa Barbara