Testimonios and Narratives: A Cross-cultural Inquiry into Identity and Experiences
Abstract
This presentation will introduce and compare the research processes followed by two Georgia Southern doctoral students’ dissertations. The purpose of this presentation is to bring insight into the process of two post-decolonial inquiry processes using Cross-Cultural Narrative (He, 1998, 1999, 2003) and testimonios methodology (Anzaldua, 1983; Delgado-Bernal et al., 2016; Hubert, 2009). Also, both of these projects use a collaborative analysis process, allowing participants to engage in analysis and theorization. A Cross-Cultural Narrative Inquiry into Three Turkish Women Teachers’ Experiences of Cultures, Languages, and Identities in the U.S. South This is a study of the identity formation and cultural transformation of three Turkish women teachers as we move back and forth between the Turkish and U.S. cultures, languages, and identities. The three participants, Güneş, Derya, and I, were born and grew up in Türkiye where we obtained our undergraduate and master’s degrees, and immigrated to the United States where we obtained additional graduate degrees. We shared our experiences about what it means to be Turkish, what it means to be an American, and most of all, what it means to be in-between, neither Turkish nor American. Theoretically, my dissertation draws upon a wide array of works on immigrants’ experience as curriculum (e.g., He et al., 2008) with a particular focus on language (e.g., Anzaldúa, 1987; Brown, 1994; Valenzuela, 1999), culture (e.g., Freire, 1970/1993), and identity (e.g., Anzaldúa, 1987, 1990; Chan, 2003, 2004) in-between spaces and places (He, 2003, 2006, 2010). Methodologically building on cross-cultural narrative inquiry (He, 1998, 1999, 2003), I utilize the composite auto/biographical narrative inquiry method (He, 1998, 1999) to delve into the storied experiences of my participants and myself, particularly our experience of acculturation (i.e., learning a second or an additional culture) and enculturation processes (learning and relearning the first culture) (Brown, 1994; Schumann, 1978; Valdés, 2001). Seven findings have emerged from my dissertation inquiry. Journeys of Love and Hope: Testimonios of Strength and Struggles of Immigrants Latina Mothers. This study explores the intersection of cultural identity, educational equity, and motherhood involvement through the lived experiences of ten first-generation Latina immigrant mothers. The purpose is to analyze immigrant Latina mothers’ experiences, communications, and activities supporting their children’s educational success. Furthermore, it fills the gaps in Latinx curriculum orientations of the home. The study is grounded in testimonio as Latina feminist methodology and epistemology. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews to generate ten Testimonios. The data was collaboratively analyzed using thematic coding and theorization. The matrix of codes integrates the theoretical operationalizations of the Pedagogies of Home and Community Cultural Wealth.
Presentation Description
N/A
Location
Room 1
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Garcia-Diaz, Mayra and Mentch, Bahar, "Testimonios and Narratives: A Cross-cultural Inquiry into Identity and Experiences" (2025). Curriculum Studies Summer Collaborative. 29.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cssc/2025/2025/29
Testimonios and Narratives: A Cross-cultural Inquiry into Identity and Experiences
Room 1
This presentation will introduce and compare the research processes followed by two Georgia Southern doctoral students’ dissertations. The purpose of this presentation is to bring insight into the process of two post-decolonial inquiry processes using Cross-Cultural Narrative (He, 1998, 1999, 2003) and testimonios methodology (Anzaldua, 1983; Delgado-Bernal et al., 2016; Hubert, 2009). Also, both of these projects use a collaborative analysis process, allowing participants to engage in analysis and theorization. A Cross-Cultural Narrative Inquiry into Three Turkish Women Teachers’ Experiences of Cultures, Languages, and Identities in the U.S. South This is a study of the identity formation and cultural transformation of three Turkish women teachers as we move back and forth between the Turkish and U.S. cultures, languages, and identities. The three participants, Güneş, Derya, and I, were born and grew up in Türkiye where we obtained our undergraduate and master’s degrees, and immigrated to the United States where we obtained additional graduate degrees. We shared our experiences about what it means to be Turkish, what it means to be an American, and most of all, what it means to be in-between, neither Turkish nor American. Theoretically, my dissertation draws upon a wide array of works on immigrants’ experience as curriculum (e.g., He et al., 2008) with a particular focus on language (e.g., Anzaldúa, 1987; Brown, 1994; Valenzuela, 1999), culture (e.g., Freire, 1970/1993), and identity (e.g., Anzaldúa, 1987, 1990; Chan, 2003, 2004) in-between spaces and places (He, 2003, 2006, 2010). Methodologically building on cross-cultural narrative inquiry (He, 1998, 1999, 2003), I utilize the composite auto/biographical narrative inquiry method (He, 1998, 1999) to delve into the storied experiences of my participants and myself, particularly our experience of acculturation (i.e., learning a second or an additional culture) and enculturation processes (learning and relearning the first culture) (Brown, 1994; Schumann, 1978; Valdés, 2001). Seven findings have emerged from my dissertation inquiry. Journeys of Love and Hope: Testimonios of Strength and Struggles of Immigrants Latina Mothers. This study explores the intersection of cultural identity, educational equity, and motherhood involvement through the lived experiences of ten first-generation Latina immigrant mothers. The purpose is to analyze immigrant Latina mothers’ experiences, communications, and activities supporting their children’s educational success. Furthermore, it fills the gaps in Latinx curriculum orientations of the home. The study is grounded in testimonio as Latina feminist methodology and epistemology. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews to generate ten Testimonios. The data was collaboratively analyzed using thematic coding and theorization. The matrix of codes integrates the theoretical operationalizations of the Pedagogies of Home and Community Cultural Wealth.
