Negotiating Identities, Navigating Institutions: A Duoethnographic Exploration of International Instructors’ Teaching U.S.-based College Writing

• In Event: Language and Literacies

Abstract

International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) in U.S. writing programs often encounter deficit-based portrayals emphasizing linguistic challenges, which obscure their multilingual and transnational strengths. Guided by Constructivist Grounded Theory, Translingualism, and Transnationalism, our duoethnographic study explores how ITAs strategically negotiate identity, authority, and pedagogical legitimacy. Through iterative observations, collaborative analyses, and dialogic interviews, we highlight how ITAs transform multilingualism into pedagogical resources, build relational classroom dynamics, and navigate institutional tensions. Our findings challenge deficit narratives, positioning ITAs as active co-constructors of inclusive, multilingual classrooms. Aligning explicitly with AERA’s (2026) call to “unforget histories” and “imagine equitable futures,” this research contributes to humanizing methodologies and equity-oriented scholarship by foregrounding ITAs’ intersectional pedagogical practices and lived experiences.

Authors

• Scholastika Paul Massawe, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Carolyn Peterson, University of Massachusetts Amherst