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Dissertation V1María Márquez1.68 MB
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Dissertation
Testimonios of resilience, struggle, and hope: the journeys of Chicanas/os and Latinas/os towards higher education
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Spring 2025
DOI: 10.25820/etd.007924
Abstract
This project analyzes several examples of Latinx life writing, focusing on the authors/narrators' journeys as students and their paths toward higher education. This dissertation also addresses the uses of oral history and testimonio as praxis to narrate marginalized experiences within the United States education system. I bring into my analysis Latinx testimonio, memoirs, and an oral history project that exhibits the experiences of Chicanas and Latinx students, ranging from the 1950s to the late 1970s, and one example from the 1990s. In Chapter One, I analyze two Mexican American women testimonios, Forged Under the Sun / Forjada bajo el sol: The Life of María Elena Lucas (1993), edited by Fran Leeper Buss, and Migrant Daughter: Coming of Age as a Mexican American Woman (2000), edited by Mario T. García, which recounts the story of Frances Esquibel Tywoniak. In Chapter Two, I discuss the polyvocal testimonial/autobiographical works: Telling to Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios (2001) and Paths to Discovery: Autobiographies from Chicanas with Careers in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering (2008), in which the authors position testimonio not only as a praxis but as a way to theorize and create knowledge through their lived experiences. In Chapter Three, I discuss memoirs/autobiography as a subgenre of life writing, with a specific analysis of Barefoot Heart Stories of a Migrant Child (1999) by Elva Treviño Hart and Becoming Dr. Q: My Journey from Migrant Farm Worker to Brain Surgeon (2011) by Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa. Chapter Four includes an analysis of oral history as a type of testimonio to recover untold stories and history. The chapter revolves around the LNACC (Latino Native American Cultural Center) Oral History Project and archival research at the University of Iowa. Finally, my analysis considers the intersections between race, gender, and class by placing the author's and narrator's journeys within a historical context. This dissertation serves as a dialogue between the traditional testimonio from Latin America, Latinx testimonios, and the practice of oral history.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Testimonios of resilience, struggle, and hope: the journeys of Chicanas/os and Latinas/os towards higher education
- Creators
- María Leonor Márquez Ponce
- Contributors
- Brian Gollnick (Advisor)Ana Rodríguez-Rodríguez (Committee Member)Claire F Fox (Committee Member)Kathleen E Newman (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Spanish
- Date degree season
- Spring 2025
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.007924
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- x, 196 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2025 María Leonor Márquez Ponce
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 04/25/2025
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 183-196).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
In this project, I discuss experiences by Chicanas/os and Latinas/os who have shared their journeys towards higher education using a life writing genre, such as testimonio, memoir, and oral history. In their stories, the authors/narrators include their K-12 educational experiences and transitions to higher education, the obstacles they face and overcome. I place each of their stories in a specific socio-historical context while examining the intersections between education, race, gender, and class. This dissertation also shows how Latinx academics and students have reshaped the use of testimonio beyond the Latin American context to create knowledge and include their history and stories in academic spaces. Therefore, this project serves as a dialogue between the established testimonio from Latin America, Latinx testimonios, and the practice of oral history.
- Academic Unit
- Spanish and Portuguese
- Record Identifier
- 9984831022102771
Metrics
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