On November 13, Dr. Alicia Rusoja, Assistant Professor of Justice, Community, and Leadership, will chat about "We Are Our Own Best Advocates: Latinx Immigrants Teaching and Learning for Their Rights"
My research focuses on the ways that Latinx immigrants organize intergenerationally and coalitionally for their rights in the context of increasing legal violence against immigrants in the U.S. As a literacy scholar, I specifically focus on the literacy, learning and teaching practices mobilized in this process and practice of organizing, which I conceptualize as an educational practice. I will share highlights from my study and particularly the ways in which I've been grappling with and addressing issues of ethics and power as I build a career as an education researcher that researches communities with whom I share some experiences (as a Latina immigrant) and not others (I am not undocumented).
Dr. Alicia Rusoja is an Assistant Professor in SMC's Justice, Community and Leadership program. She received her PhD in Reading, Writing, Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education (or PennGSE). Dr. Rusoja's research, teaching and activism are interconnected and mutually informing. She has participated in and led action research projects in the U.S. and Nicaragua, taught as a member of collaborative teaching teams in the U.S., Chile and Mexico, as well as coordinated and facilitated participatory ESOL classes for adult immigrants and refugees in the U.S. As an immigrant from Venezuela, she has been actively involved in movements for immigrant rights and educational justice for over 15 years. She has published in scholarly and community-based journals, presented in scholarly and community-based conferences, as well as co-presented research designed and carried out alongside minoritized communities. Prior to coming to SMC, she taught at PennGSE. There, she was awarded the Ralph C. Preston Award for Scholarship and Teaching Contributing to Social Justice. She enjoys playing music and singing, and being in community.
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