Chicana/Latina Testimonios as Pedagogical Methodological and Activist Approaches to Social Justice

<P>While the genre of <I>testimonio </I>has deep roots in oral cultures and in Latin American human rights struggles, the publication and subsequent adoption of <I>This Bridge Called My Back </I>(Moraga & Anzaldúa, 1983) and, more recently, <I>Telling to Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios </I>(Latina Feminist Group, 2001), have demonstrated the power of <I>testimonio</I> as a genre that exposes brutality, disrupts silencing, and builds solidarity among women of colour. </P><P>Within the field of education, scholars are increasingly taking up <I>testimonio </I>as a pedagogical, methodological, and activist approach to social justice, which transgresses traditional paradigms in academia. Unlike the more usual approach of researchers producing unbiased knowledge, the <I>testimonio </I>challenges objectivity by situating the individual in communion with a collective experience marked by marginalization, oppression, or resistance. This approach has resulted in new understandings about how marginalized communities build solidarity, and respond to and resist dominant culture, laws, and policies that perpetuate inequity. </P><P>This book contributes to our understanding of <I>testimonio</I> as it relates to methodology, pedagogy, research, and reflection in pursuit of social justice. A common thread among the chapters is a sense of political urgency to address inequities within Chicana/o and Latina/o communities. This book was originally published as a special issue of <I>Equity & Excellence in Education.</P></I>