Published: Sept. 23, 2016

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Mónica González, a doctoral candidate in Literacy Studies, and Michael Domínguez,Ìýa doctoral alumnus in Literacy Studies,ÌýhaveÌýbeen selected for the highly competitive and prestigiousÌý 2016-18 cohort by the National Council of Teachers of English Research Foundation.

The Cultivating New Voices Among Scholars of Color program is designed to provide two years of support, mentoring, and networking opportunities for both doctoral candidates and post-doctoral early career scholars of color.

The program works with early career scholars to cultivate the ability to draw from their own cultural and linguistic perspectives as they conceptualize, plan, conduct, write, and disseminate findings from their research. The program provides socialization into the research community and interaction with established scholars whose own work can be enriched by their engagement with new ideas and perspectives, and only 14Ìýscholars were selected nationwide for the 2016-18 cohort.

González’s work as an activist-scholar centralizes on collaborating with young people to challenge dominant notions of language, literacy, and knowledge production more broadly. Her dissertation research primarily focuses on Youth Participatory Action Research with immigrant youth people living in a migrant housing community. While herÌýresearch in collaboration with these young people focuses on issues facing the community and implications for social change, her analysis also seeks to recognize and understand the ways in which young people disrupt colonial narratives about themselves, their families, and community.

González’sÌýwork is interdisciplinary and relies on critical frameworks to examine how literacy is situated at the intersections of race, class, gender, citizenship, and sexuality and how the voices of young people are central to reconstructing narratives and creating alternative literacies.

Domínguez is an assistant professor of cultural studies andÌýliteracy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at ¾«Æ·SMÔÚÏßӰƬ, Dr. Domínguez served as co-founder and director for UMAS y MEXA de ¾«Æ·SMÔÚÏßӰƬ’s Aquetza Program, which focused on supporting decolonial and expansive learning for Chican@ youth and pre-service teachers.

Previously a middle school English teacher in North Las Vegas, Domínguez’ research interests focus on the schooling experiences and literacies of Latin@/Chican@ youth, liberatory teacher education, and the intersections of critical pedagogy, decolonial theory, and learning science. His current work employs social-design and ethnographic research methodologies to explore how critical literacy and ethnic studies content can support culturally sustaining literacy growth and socio-political development for Latin@ youth, their families, and their teachers in the rural southeast. He is also an experienced Teatro del Oprimido facilitator, committed to Teatro’s ability to encourage activism, socio-emotional growth, and civic engagement in school and community settings.

Since 2000, Cultivating New Voices has supported more than 80 scholars/fellows of color across seven cohorts. Participating fellows, working closely with an assigned mentor and other members of the cohort, investigate current issues in language, literacy, teacher education, English, and cultural studies. From large group conversations on refining theoretical frameworks and modes of inquiry to small group discussions on research questions and data analysis techniques, Cultivating New Voices participants encourage each other to pursue critically conscious research.


Related Faculty: Mónica González