“We are Not All Named Maria”: Building Transnational Identities in a United States International Baccalaureate High School

ABSTRACT

In this study, we use discursive analytic tools to understand how transnational high school students in one suburban high school in the United States Pacific Northwest describe their social and academic experiences in school. The majority of the students from this study were born in the United States and therefore do not fit with the traditional, geographically based conception of transnational. However, we argue that they experience cultural, social, and linguistic transnationalism in a variety of ways, and that their alignment with these complex identities influences their day-to-day interactions in school. We examine how these youth used language to position themselves racially and linguistically relative to others in their school community, and the figured worlds they drew on in the process. We find that 15 students expressed the complexity of their experiences as both insiders and outsiders in this school, sometimes engaging—and other times rejecting— the identities others ascribed to them.

KEYWORDS:

• Discourse analysis
• high school
• linguistic diversity
• mixed heritage
• transnational youth

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by a grant for the University of Oregon Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. In addition, we would like to thank Bob Bussel for his support of the project, and the students who shared their experiences with us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the University of Oregon Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation.

Notes on contributors

Audrey Lucero

Audrey Lucero is an associate professor of language and literacy education and director of the Latinx Studies program at the University of Oregon. Her current research focuses on how K-8 teachers understand race and racism and engage children in critical conversations about these issues as part of their literacy instruction. She teaches courses in bilingualism & biliteracy, Latinx studies, and elementary literacy methods.

Bobbie Bermúdez

Bobbie Bermúdez is a Clinical Research Coordinator, Spanish Specialist at the University of Utah. She earned her PhD in Critical and Socio-Cultural Studies in Education at the University of Oregon. She was born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and has been speaking both Spanish and English since the first grade. Her research focuses on the experiences of Latinx individuals and how they leverage community cultural wealth to facilitate their success in higher education.

Maggie R. Mitteis

Maggie R. Mitteis is a Faculty Instructor and Literacy Specialist in Lane Community College's ESL department as well as a doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon. Her teaching and research focuses on adult ESL learners' individual, community, and future possible identities.