Literacies of Refuge: “Pidiendo Posada” as Ritual of Justice

This article explores how a secondary ethnic studies course leveraged immigrant families’ literacies rooted in the Mexican spiritual ritual of Las Posadas for in-school literacy instruction and to engage in community-responsive grassroots processions as social protest. Using ethnographic and partici...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of literacy research 2020-03, Vol.52 (1), p.32-54
Main Authors: de los Ríos, Cati V., Molina, Arturo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citizenship Education
Community
Cultural Influences
Curriculum Design
Curriculum development
Ethnic Studies
Ethnography
Families & family life
High Schools
Hispanic American Students
Hispanic Americans
Immigrants
Learning
Literacy
Literacy Education
Mexican Americans
Noncitizens
Social Change
Social Influences
Social justice
Student Attitudes
Students
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Summary:This article explores how a secondary ethnic studies course leveraged immigrant families’ literacies rooted in the Mexican spiritual ritual of Las Posadas for in-school literacy instruction and to engage in community-responsive grassroots processions as social protest. Using ethnographic and participatory design research, the authors—one a university researcher and the other an ethnic studies teacher—examine the literacy practices of a long-standing immigrant community–classroom partnership that unites day laborers, families, students, and teachers in the name of justice and refuge. Using photographs, interviews, students’ literacy artifacts, focus groups, and field notes, this study asks, (a) What do literacies look like in an ethnic studies course that designed learning around local community knowledge and sanctuary? (b) How do students respond to such curricular design? This study contributes ethnographic knowledge on school-based participatory research projects that build on the intergenerational literacies, sociopolitical awareness, and social movements of Latinx immigrant families.
ISSN:1086-296X
1554-8430
DOI:10.1177/1086296X19897840