An Examination Of U.S. Latino Identities As Constructed In/Through Curricular Materials

Drawing from the work of Davies (2000) I discuss how U.S. Latino/a identities are constructed in curricular materials by guiding narratives surrounding U.S. Latino/a literatures in commonly used teacher edition high school literature anthologies. In looking at the language used to situate U.S. Latino/a literatures within the selected anthologies, I discuss how language used affects their positionings within the textbooks affecting knowledge produced about U.S. Latino/a cultures and identities while maintaining and propagating stereotypical notions about what it may mean to be U.S. Latino/a. In contributing to this publication, I address the ways teacher edition textbooks perpetuate a status quo relative to conceptions of identities and cultures by the ways U.S. Latino/a literatures are situated within curricular materials. This article serves educators to interrogate stereotypical ideologies that construct curricular materials possibly affecting their practices, practices that shape the schooling experiences of all students, in particular those identifying as U.S. Latino/a.