2020
Maria G. Gutierrez
Dissertation Abstract
"Jatsintaparini: Rooting Intercultural Education in Communal Pedagogies in the P’urhépecha Region"
This dissertation examines intercultural education in the P’urhépecha region of Michoacán and it investigates how the State frames its intercultural discourses and how they unfolded in practice in attempts for a culturally sensitive and inclusive education curricula through the establishment of intercultural education. Furthermore, this project looks at how P’urhépecha communities view education to understand why bilingual education projects fail. This work found that studies on intercultural education and community-based practices tend to be analyzed separately. Grounded in interculturalidad and community-based knowledge as theoretical frameworks, and based on extensive archival research and ethnographic work, such as oral interviews, this project argues for interweaving intercultural education and communal pedagogies, thus contributing to bridge this gap and create pathways for intercultural dialogue. This dissertation understands indigenous communities and classrooms as intercultural spaces and suggests that interculturalidad must be rooted in P’urhépecha (indigenous) communal pedagogies. The introduction discusses interculturalidad and communal pedagogies as frameworks of study. Chapter 1 presents a historical overview of education in the P’urhépecha region. Chapter 2 analyzes official intercultural education. Chapter 3 focuses on the intricacies and resistance of the teachers’ movement. Chapter 4 considers case studies in P’urhépecha language revitalization. Chapter 5 looks at P’urhépecha communal pedagogies as teaching-learning methodologies. The conclusion re-asserts that P’urhépecha communities constitute intercultural spaces and, therefore, intercultural education must work within the frameworks of communal pedagogies.
This dissertation examines intercultural education in the P’urhépecha region of Michoacán and it investigates how the State frames its intercultural discourses and how they unfolded in practice in attempts for a culturally sensitive and inclusive education curricula through the establishment of intercultural education. Furthermore, this project looks at how P’urhépecha communities view education to understand why bilingual education projects fail. This work found that studies on intercultural education and community-based practices tend to be analyzed separately. Grounded in interculturalidad and community-based knowledge as theoretical frameworks, and based on extensive archival research and ethnographic work, such as oral interviews, this project argues for interweaving intercultural education and communal pedagogies, thus contributing to bridge this gap and create pathways for intercultural dialogue. This dissertation understands indigenous communities and classrooms as intercultural spaces and suggests that interculturalidad must be rooted in P’urhépecha (indigenous) communal pedagogies. The introduction discusses interculturalidad and communal pedagogies as frameworks of study. Chapter 1 presents a historical overview of education in the P’urhépecha region. Chapter 2 analyzes official intercultural education. Chapter 3 focuses on the intricacies and resistance of the teachers’ movement. Chapter 4 considers case studies in P’urhépecha language revitalization. Chapter 5 looks at P’urhépecha communal pedagogies as teaching-learning methodologies. The conclusion re-asserts that P’urhépecha communities constitute intercultural spaces and, therefore, intercultural education must work within the frameworks of communal pedagogies.