The Process of Reflexión in Bridging Testimonios Across Lived Experience

Abstract

From Latinas’ locations in the margins of academe and society emerges a unique set of challenges complicated by racism, sexism, and classism. One form of resistance to these multiple marginalities involves drawing upon and (re)telling one's lived experience to expose oppression and systemic violence. Testimonio is a conceptual and methodological tool that transforms personal narrative into this type of resistance. In this article, the authors employ testimonio to document, from an intergenerational perspective, critical consequences and benefits of the academic socialization process for Latina academics. In examining the exchange between and among four established and four emerging Latina scholars, the authors uncovered an innovative methodological technique for bridging testimonios across lived experience; this technique is referred to as reflexión and enhances the level of knowledge construction that testimonio offers in formulating a collective consciousness across generations and social identities, crafting theories about Latina scholars in academe, and demonstrating that lived experience is integral to knowledge creation.