Crossing Literacy Fronteras

This ten-month ethnographic study examines how four Latina immigrant mothers and their young children employed literacy practices within and beyond a two-generation program. Two-generation programs generally serve marginalized families by instructing them on school-based language and literacy practices. This study approaches literacy from sociocultural (i.e., what people do with literacy) and multimodal perspectives (i.e., print, visual, oral, media, and online literacies). The study examines a) the kinds of school-based literacy practices--or aspects of them--that mothers took up in out-of-school contexts; b) the kinds of out-of-school-literacy practices--or aspects of them--that mothers brought to the school site; and c) the continuities and discontinuities of literacy practices across contexts. Data was collected through observations, ethnographic interviews, document analysis, and video. Findings reveal that in out-of-school contexts, some of the school-based literacy practices learned at Nuestra Comunidad were replicated, and/or modified, while others were not taken up. The varying ways that mothers took up school-based literacy practices was most often influenced by participants' cultural values related to language and literacy and their purposes or goals for engaging in particular literacy activities. The study also found that when mothers employed out-of-school literacy practices at Nuestra Comunidad they were met with resistance due to conflicting ideologies regarding appropriate language and literacy activities and curricula. Mothers still brought in their out-of-school literacy practices in clandestine manners or had to modify their practices. When focusing on marginalized groups, traditional family literacy research has either a) privileged school-based literacy practices and their replication in the home setting; or b) emphasized the cultural and linguistic wealth of marginalized families' home literacy practices but highlighted the differences between these practices and those employed and valued in school (Auerbach, 1989; Gadsden, 1998, 2001). This study looks beyond the simple replication of literacy practices from school to home and vice versa. Rather, this research provides insight into the rich literacy practices that Latino families engage in throughout the many contexts of their lives by highlighting the complex ways in which literacy practices move across spaces.

Crossing Digital Fronteras is about liberatory possibilities and digital technologies in the classroom. The book centers critical Latinx Digital Humanities to illustrate the ways college faculty and Latinx students harness digital tools to engage in "messy" yet essential active learning and knowledge production in Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Latinx Studies courses. With increasing Latinx student enrollment and a growing need for the humanities in our complex world, it is essential that HSIs and instructors integrate twenty-first-century tools into their teaching practices to truly "serve" Latinx students and communities. This book definitively inserts Latinx Digital Humanities into broader conversations about best practices at HSIs, on the one hand, and digital humanities and social justice, on the other. Most importantly, it provides practical examples of innovative, rehumanizing digital pedagogies that give students the liberatory learning they deserve.

Abstract: This activist ethnographic study analyzes the language and literacy practices within an after-school program designed to promote meaningful interactions between immigrant middle school students and their urban, low-income peers. These collaborations occurred when students engaged in pedagogical activities intended to heighten their awareness of themselves, their language and learning potential, and their capacity to resist situations and labels that limit their opportunities for social and academic success. Using a theoretical framework that supplements Cultural Historical Activity Theory with theories of social space and social practice, the study focuses on the agency displayed by and the interpersonal connections that developed between the young people as they worked to co-construct social maps of their school and to author and act in a multilingual video against gossip.

Join a young boy and his father on a daring journey from Mexico to Texas to find a new life. They’ll need all the resilience and courage they can muster to safely cross the border − la frontera − and to make a home for themselves in a new land.

This volume explores and evaluates community-based literacy programs, examining how they bridge gaps in literacy development, promote dialogue, and connect families, communities, and schools. Highlighting the diversity of existing literary initiatives across populations, this book brings together innovative and emerging scholarship on the relationship between P20 schools and community-based literacy programming. This volume not only identifies trends in research and practice, but it also addresses the challenges affecting these community-based programs and presents the best practices that emerge from them. Collaborating with leading scholars to provide national and international perspectives, and offering a clear, birds-eye view of the state of community literacy praxis, chapters cover programming in a multitude of settings and for a wide range of learners, from early childhood to incarcerated youths and adults, and including immigrants, refugees, and indigenous communities. Topics include identity and empowerment, language and literacy development across the lifespan, rural and urban environments, and partnership programs. The breadth of community literacy programming gathered in a single volume represents a unique array of models and topics, and has relevance for researchers, scholars, graduate students, pre-service educators, and community educators in literacy.

In a period of increasing economic and social uncertainty, how do immigrant communities come together to advocate for educational access and their rights? This book is based on a 5-year university partnership with members from Indonesian, Vietnamese, Latino, Filipino, African American, and Irish American communities. Sharing rich examples, the authors examine how these diverse groups use language and literacy practices to advocate for greater opportunities. This unique partnership demonstrates how to draw on the knowledge and interests of a multilingual community to inform literacy teaching and learning, both in and out of school. It also provides guidelines for reimagining university/community collaborations and the practice of ethical partnering. Partnering with Immigrant Communities focuses on: Minoritized immigrant populations, including groups with undocumented status and those who came to the United States to flee religious persecution. The intellectual and activist legacies that are already present in communities as people come together to take action on matters that directly impact their lives. A local cosmopolitanism that serves as a refuge for many immigrants who may otherwise be scapegoated within the dominant culture. A coalition of multilingual, multiethnic communities whose experiences are intertwined by overlapping histories of colonization and shared present struggles.Ethical and effective community-based research, including concrete and theoretically informed examples. “Supported by theory and written with clarity, this inspiring account sets the gold standard for research that is both committed and ethical.” —Hilary Janks, emeritus professor,Wits University “A game-changing text.” —Elizabeth Dutro, University of Colorado, Boulder “A powerful illustration of intentional ethical engagement through practitioner and participatory research methodologies to support sustainable community-based inquiries toward social and political transformation.” —Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, senior program officer for Tribal College and University (TCU) Early Childhood Education Initiatives, American Indian College Fund

AIDS has crossed every international border and affects all populationsthroughout the world, including migrant workers. In the U.S.,migrant workers are a hidden and sometimes maligned population withlimited access to needed health and welfare services, including HIVprevention. Little, however, is krown about the impact of the HIV IAIDS epidemic oo Latino farmworkers. This absence of systematic researchwas the impetus for the preparation of this book.This book is the first collection of research studies focusing specificallym migrant Latino farmworkers. The book brings together sevenresearch studies to provide a profile of the HN prevention, surveillanceand treatment needs of migrant workers. The editors combinetheir own work with that of nationally and internationally recognizedexperts to provide a comprehensive analysis of different aspects of theHIV epidemic among migrant Latino workers. They examine issuessuch as the HN prevention needs of Latino farmworking women andtheir children, the sexual beliefs and behaviors of Latino migrantworkers, the effects of migration m changes in sexuality and sexualpractices, the risk for HN through use of sex workers, knowledge aboutthe HIV I AIDS epidemic, the effectiveness of prevention programs, andpolicies and programs that may stem the spread of HIV among thispopulation. The book is notable for including, in addition to researchers'views, the perspectives of migrant workers and policymakers mHN prevention policies and programs.

From award-winning author Mitali Perkins and illustrator Sara Palacios comes Between Us and Abuela, a timely debut picture book about love overcoming the border fences between Mexico and the United States. It's almost time for Christmas, and Maria is traveling with her mother and younger brother, Juan, to visit their grandmother on the border of California and Mexico. For the few minutes they can share together along the fence, Maria and her brother plan to exchange stories and Christmas gifts with the grandmother they haven't seen in years. But when Juan's gift is too big to fit through the slats in the fence, Maria has a brilliant idea. She makes it into a kite that soars over the top of the iron bars. Here is a heartwarming tale of multi-cultural families, and the miracle of love.

Literary Nonfiction. Poetry. Latinx Studies. LGBTQIA Studies. Edited by Ricardo F. Vivancos-Pèrez and Norma Cantú. Rooted in Gloria Anzaldúa's experiences growing up near the U.S./Mexico border, BORDERLANDS/LA FRONTERA remaps our understanding of borders as psychic, social, and cultural terrains that we inhabit and that inhabit us all. Drawing heavily on archival research and a comprehensive literature review while contextualizing the book within her theories and writings before and after its 1987 publication, this critical edition elucidates Anzaldúa's complex composition process and its centrality in the development of her philosophy. It opens with two introductory studies; offers a corrected text, explanatory footnotes, translations, and four archival appendices; and closes with an updated bibliography of Anzaldúa's works, an extensive scholarly bibliography on Borderlands, a brief biography, and a short discussion of the Gloria E. Anzaldúa Papers. "Ricardo F. Vivancos-Pèrez's meticulous archival work and Norma Elia Cantú's life experience and expertise converge to offer a stunning resource for Anzaldúa scholars; for writers, artists, and activists inspired by her work; and for everyone. Hereafter, no study of Borderlands will be complete without this beautiful, essential reference."--Paola Bacchetta