Co-Designing Futures: Latina Scholars Build the East Coast RAC Through Collective Vision and Shared Praxis

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium uses Critical Race Feminista Methodologies (CRFM) to advance the next phase in building an East Coast Research Apprenticeship Community (EC-RAC). Building on last year’s dialogue with compañera/os and fementors, the three papers explore: (1) reflections on a planned visit to a longstanding West Coast Research Apprenticeship Course (WC-RAC) to examine how space fosters belonging for Latina scholars; (2) envisioning a future planning retreat at a Midwest-based institution as a hub for East Coast community-building; and (3) analyzing a virtual network as a space of healing, solidarity, and resistance. Together, these papers invite the AERA community into a co-design process to imagine a third space—beyond the academy—where Latina scholars are supported, challenged, and nourished.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Critical Educators for Social Justice

Chair

• Daniel Gilbert Solorzano, University of California - Los Angeles

Papers

• Spatial Belonging and Collective Imagination: Reflections on a West Coast RAC Site Visit - Cristina M. Medellin, Bank Street College of Education; Vanessa Rodriguez, New York University; Alexandra Figueras-Daniel, National Institute for Early Education Research

• Envisioning an East Coast RAC Planning Retreat at a Midwest Institution - Mariana Souto-Manning, Erikson Institute; Maxine McKinney de Royston, Erikson Institute

• Formando Comunidad: Convivencia and the Future of East Coast Latina Research Spaces - Lindsay Pérez Huber, California State University - Long Beach; Maria C. Malagon, California State University - Fullerton; Verónica Nelly Vélez, Western Washington University

Session Organizer

• Cristina M. Medellin, Bank Street College of Education

Discussant

• Dolores Delgado Bernal, Loyola Marymount University