Theorizing Social Studies Education from Below: Civic Knowledge, Praxis, and Possibility from Los de Abajo

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This session invites social studies education research to theorize transnational, culturally grounded civic and social practices often viewed as lower-class, makeshift, and/or “rough around the edges.” While the field has expanded its theoretical approaches, it rarely engages practices of “making do” and “making the most from the least.” Theorizing with concepts like rasquache, resolver, bregando, and jeitinho reveals how communities (re)fashion lives of joy, agency, and dignity, often from what is (seen as) undignified. This panel explores how educators can move beyond dominant civic narratives to recognize the creative, and often subversive, strategies marginalized communities use to navigate systemic inequities. This approach positions Latinx and Caribbean educators as knowledge‑bearers whose theory‑stories expand civic imagination and inform policy and pedagogy.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Social Studies Research

Chair

• Carolyn Silva, University of Nevada - Reno

Papers

• Rasquache Civic Movidas: The role of humor, play, and resistance in civic practices - José I. Valdez, Texas A&M University; Jasmin Patron-Vargas, Texas A&M University

• Jeitinho Brasileiro as as Pedagogical Praxis Inherited Epistemology in Social Studies Education - Carolyn Silva, University of Nevada - Reno

• Lessons from Rastafari and Reggae: Teaching Pro-Blackness and Black Joy in Social Studies Classrooms - Tianna Dowie-Chin, University of Georgia

• Seguimos en La Brega: How the concept of “La Brega/Bregando” can be used as an analytic tool in analyzing (social studies) teacher practice - Claribel González, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• The Kwas: Scraps as Speculative Social Studies for Teachers’ Preparation - Danielle Charlemagne, University of Georgia

Session Organizer

• Carolyn Silva, University of Nevada - Reno

Discussant

• Timothy Monreal, University at Buffalo - SUNY