Diaspora Studies in Education

Rosalie Rolón-Dow is Associate Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Delaware. Jason G. Irizarry is Director of the Center for Urban Education and Associate Professor in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

«To conceptualize Puerto Ricans within the processes of diasporization constitutes a powerful ground-breaking approach that extends and affirms critical perspectives of both the process of ‘Boricua’ biculturalism and our place as cultural citizens of the world. Grounded in the diverse manifestations of Puerto Rican life in the United States, the book offers powerful insights into cultural readings of the ‘Boricua’ experience, which not only bring greater emancipatory potential to the education of Puerto Rican students, but to other communities that share in the great struggles and triumphs of life in the diaspora. This is a beautifully edited book that deserves close attention in our future reconceptualizations of subordinate populations in the United States and abroad.» (Antonia Darder, Leavey Presidential Chair and Professor, Loyola Marymount University; Author of ‘Culture and Power in the Classroom’)«Rosalie Rolón-Dow and Jason G. Irizarry have assembled an admirable collection of case studies and personal testimonies of the educational experiences of Puerto Ricans in the diaspora and on the Island. Their insightful volume fills a substantial gap in the academic literature on how Puerto Ricans and other Latinos have faced the forces of displacement, assimilation, discrimination, and marginalization in U.S. schools.» (Jorge Duany, Professor, Florida International University)«‘Diaspora Studies and Education’ is a wonderful collection of essays and poems that brings the concept of ‘diaspora’ back to its original meanings. The authors continuously emphasize the dynamic interplays between different diasporic Puerto Rican communities in the mainland United States, as well as between them and the Island of Puerto Rico. Throughout, the book continuously presents the ever-evolving realities of Puerto Ricans, both as individuals as well as in their communities, as they interact with others within specific environments. Finally, what this important book brings to the table is a real-life account of the cultural dynamics faced by, as well as the creative reactions of, Puerto Rican students in mainland U.S. schools.» (Xavier F. Totti, Lehman College, CUNY; Editor, ‘CENTRO: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies’)

• Contents: Rosalie Rolón-Dow/Jason G. Irizarry: Introduction: Towards a diaspora framework – Martín Espada: Heart of hunger – Nilda Flores-González/Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz: Latino/a diaspora, citizenship, and Puerto Rican youth in the immigrant rights movement – Jonathan Rosa: Learning ethnolinguistic borders: Language and diaspora in the socialization of U.S. Latinas/os – María E. Fránquiz: Hybrid Latina: Becoming a ChicaRican – Threads of diaspora through circular migration – Martín Espada: Coca-Cola and Coco Frío – Rosalie Rolón-Dow: Finding community cultural wealth in diaspora: A LatCrit analysis – Sandra Quiñones: Educated entremundos (between worlds): Exploring the role of diaspora in the lives of Puerto Rican teachers – Shabazz Napier/Jason G. Irizarry: Ballin’ and becoming Boricua: From Roxbury to Rio Piedras and back again – Martín Espada: Tony went to the bodega but he didn’t buy anything – Jason G. Irizarry/Enrique Figueroa: El Grito de Loisaida: DiaspoRicans, educational sovereignty, and the colonial project – Enid M. Rosario-Ramos: A DiaspoRican critical pedagogy: Redefining education for Puerto Rican youth – Eileen M. Gonzalez: From «La Borinqueña» to «The Star-Spangled Banner»: An emic perspective on getting educated in the diaspora – Kristen Negron/Jason G. Irizarry: «The heartbeat»: Education within and outside diaspora.