Language, Identity, and Racialization: A Trio-Ethnography of Spanish Linguists

Abstract

Conversations on race and systemic racism have persisted since long before the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other murdered and missing Black, Brown, and Indigenous people. In an ever-enduring global pandemic and following a wave of resistance to racial oppression and violence, U.S. institutions are now facing a reckoning for the ways in which they maintain racialized power dynamics and exacerbate inequities across social sectors. Academic institutions are no exception. This trio-ethnography is simultaneously an interrogation of the current social, cultural, and political moment and an exploration of the many ways that our lived experiences with language, race, and identity intersect in the Academy. As professors of Spanish at a Historically Black University, a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and a Predominantly White Institution we turn to our own experiences, languages, and bodies for deeper study. In this trio-ethnography, we juxtapose the stories we tell and attempt to complicate understandings of the intersections of language, race, and identity in academia. We engage in critical conversations on our intersectional identities and experiences to problematize hegemonic whiteness and its persistent colonization of linguistic practices. We also explore the influence and impact of these forms of practice on our paths to becoming critical scholars of language and race. Our work seeks to engage faculty, administration, and students in dialogue on the ways that hegemonic language ideologies replicate problematic racial power dynamics and exacerbate inequities in the academy and beyond. With this conversation, we hope to facilitate a better understanding of how academic institutions must respond to the call to dismantle their own systems of oppression.