Aquí entre nos: identity and socio-political consciousness development of queer Latinx/a/o college student activists through the Muxerista Activist Consciousness Development Framework
Creators: name: Orozco, Roberto Carlos
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2022

description: The purpose of this study was to understand the identity and socio-political consciousness of queer Latinx/a/o college student activists in higher education. Using a critical grounded theory methodology coupled with method of pláticas this study sought to ask the following research questions: 1) how do queer Latinx/a/o college students in higher education construct meaning of their ethnic identity, gender, and sexuality in the context of their activism; 2) how do queer Latinx/a/o college students negotiate their ethnic identity, gender, and sexuality in different context; 3) what forms of resistance of queer Latinx/a/o college students utilize in their practice of activism; and 4) in what ways do queer Latinx/a/o college students build sites of queer kinship and liberation? Therefore, my dissertation examines how queer Latinx/a/o student activists make meaning of their race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality within the context of their activism in higher education. Furthermore, my dissertation is more than a written analysis of queer Latinx/a/o individuals, it is an epistemological and theoretical shift that disrupts the heteronormative conceptualization of Latinx/a/o students in higher education. A total of fifteen collaborators shared their knowledge, experiences, and narratives for this study. Data were collected using two pláticas and aligned with the research questions coupled with the epistemological and theoretical grounding of Chicana Latina Feminism. The data was then analyzed using a grounded theory alignment with constant comparative method, an initial coding process, and a focused coding process. In the focused coding process, I utilized Anzaldúa’s (2002) path of conocimiento as a theoretical framework that provided a more in-depth understanding of the data itself. The outcome of this study was the Muxerista Activist Consciousness Development Framework as a guiding model for identity and socio-political consciousness development for queer Latinx/a/o college student activists. This framework encompasses the cognitive (knowledge and thoughts), behavioral (engaging in actions), social-political (focus on identities and social structures of power), and corporeal (focus on the physical body) reality of queer Latinx/a/o student activists. Additionally, I build on Anzaldúa’s (2002) initial introduction of the path of the conocimiento and apply its origins to bringing forth the narratives, reflections, and meaning making process of queer Latinx/a/o college student activists. Specifically, the overarching themes generated from the data collection and analysis include the following: sites of ruptures and heridas (wounds), dismemberment of the mind/body, claiming a Muxerista Jotería consciousness, healing as a Muxerista praxis, and imagining possibilities…visionary organizing. These generated themes include subthemes that speak to the nuances of each of the collaborator’s narratives and experiences that inform the meaning making process of queer Latinx/a/o students’ identity and socio-political consciousness development. Furthermore, this study contributes to the third wave of college student development and the scholarship on college student activism. Lastly, this study has implications for queer Latinx/a/o college student and higher education and student affairs practice and research.