University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2019 From ‘disengaged’ To Digital: Latino Boys As Emergent Technology Experts Carlos Ricardo Martínez University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Education Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Martínez, Carlos Ricardo, "From ‘disengaged’ To Digital: Latino Boys As Emergent Technology Experts" (2019). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 3514. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3514 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3514 For more information, please contact [email protected]. From ‘disengaged’ To Digital: Latino Boys As Emergent Technology Experts Abstract Anthropological research suggests that young Latino men face a complex set of cultural norms that can make it difficulto t identify as experts in technology. In education research Latino boys have historically been framed in relation to deficit-perspectives. This dissertation provides an account of Latino boys as self-efficacious learners. I ask, a) how did a oupgr of Latino boys integrate their cultural values and extant technology-related learning practices into self-directed digital literacy learning?; b) What pertinent social processes shaped their emerging sense of themselves as members of a group of digital literacy learners?; and, c) How did these emergent technology experts formulate narratives about their educational trajectories and imagined futures based on their technical and social practice skills development? Over eighteen months, eight Mexican-origin middle school boys met in a community center technology room. Utilizing a critical ethnographic approach, I observed the boys self-directed digital literacy practices, including coding, 3-D drafting, and graphic design. I collected 55 hours of audio recordings, semi- structured interviews, and participant products, as well as producing field notes and analytic memos ot reflexively evaluate emergent concepts. The ethnographic accounts suggest a mode of social identity formation wherein the boys applied their cultural values and learning practices to self-directed endeavors. A pattern emerged in which the boys acknowledged the specialized skills of each other, and in turn, had their own forms of digital literacy expertise recognized. I contend the participants came to understand themselves and fellow group members as emergent digital literacy experts, developed communicative repertoires aligned with technologically proficient social identities. This research contributes to scholarship in cultural anthropology, education/learning sciences, and Latinx studies. This research pushes the boundaries of critical ethnography by positioning the researcher as an activist-scholar. It focuses on how learners from non-dominant groups can develop identity trajectories in relation to their informal STE(A)M learning practices. And, it interrogates how a Xicanx researcher can participate with Latinx youth as a coordinator of dialogue, a navigator of educational spaces, and a colonizer valuing neoliberal ends/trajectories. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Education First Advisor Kathleen D. Hall Keywords Cultural Anthropology, Foundations of Education, Latinx Studies, Learning Sciences, Linguistic Anthropology, Youth Studies Subject Categories Education | Ethnic Studies | Social and Cultural Anthropology This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3514 FROM ‘DISENGAGED’ TO DIGITAL: LATINO BOYS AS EMERGENT TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS Carlos Ricardo Martínez A DISSERTATION in Education Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2019 Supervisor of Dissertation _____________________ Kathleen D. Hall, Associate Professor of Education and Anthropology Graduate Group Chairperson ______________________ J. Matthew Hartley, Professor of Education Dissertation Committee: Kathleen D. Hall, Associate Professor of Education and Anthropology Nelson L. Flores, Associate Professor of Education Amy Stornaiuolo, Associate Professor of Education Stanton Wortham, Dean, Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development Sofia A. Villenas, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Cornell University FROM ‘DISENGAGED’ TO DIGITAL: LATINO BOYS AS EMERGENT TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS COPYRIGHT 2019 Carlos Ricardo Martínez iii For Jennie, con todo mi corazón. And Alicia Cano Martinez & Luz Maria Cano, that their place in history be recognized. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would first like to thank the boys I worked with, their parents, and families. I continue to learn from them and appreciate the trust they placed in me before, during, and after this project. I would also like to express my gratitude for the Penn GSE doctoral fellowship provided by Lee Spelman Doty, W’76, and George E. Doty, Jr., W’76. Their support made this study possible. It was Dean Stanton E.F. Wortham’s work in a New Latino Diaspora town that led me to Penn. He was my original coyote, as Dr. Enrique Murillo might say. With his keen ethnographic eye and profound concern for his doctoral students, he shepherded me through many a treacherous doctoral studies borderland. I will always be in debt to Stanton for his patience and resolute belief in my ability as an anthropologist. I would not have completed this ethnography if not for the heartfelt mentorship and intellectual support of Dr. Kathleen D. Hall. I arrived at Penn as a K-12 ESL/Bilingual teacher, with an interest in documenting learning interactions via ethnography. Kathy suggested anthropological coursework and research, and in doing so shifted the course of my life in a rich and fulfilling manner. In these past several months of writing, she has provided a nurturing and academically rigorous opportunity to develop as a scholar. My dissertation committee members, Dr. Sofia A. Villenas, Dr. Nelson L. Flores, and Dr. Amy Stornaiuolo have been edifying forces in shaping this ethnography. Their generosity of spirit in taking the time to provide insights and recommendations throughout the process improved it, and also modeled scholarly camaraderie and kindness. The communities that supported me at Penn were abundant. Dean Andy Porter first invited me to the prospective PhD students’ weekend and provided a Dean’s Scholarship. Dean Pam Grossman granted me opportunity to continue and complete this dissertation. Lois McNamara and Ann Tiao lent their expertise in navigating Penn, which v was indispensable as a first generation doctoral student. The Fontaine Society was the first space at Penn where I met other doctoral students from backgrounds like my own, and I deeply appreciate the efforts of the Division of the Vice Provost for University Life in creating and maintaining that space. In the Anthropology Department, Dr. Deborah A. Thomas, Dr. John L. Jackson, Dr. Asif Agha, and Dr. Theodore G. Schurr were very welcoming and integral in helping me develop the foundational tools necessary to become an ethnographer. Dr. Michael B. Katz (RIP) and Dr. Elaine Simon in the Urban Studies program taught me how to think about the myriad ways that communities and environments interact with and shape one another as I completed my graduate certificate in urban studies. Patty Lynn, of Penn Libraries, was a powerful resource in helping me discover and organize literatures across disciplines. Betty Deane has worked tirelessly to help me deliver this manuscript in its best possible form. And my Penn classmates: Christopher Pupik Dean, Roseann Liu, Gabriel Dattreyan, Mariam Durrani, Arjun Shankar, Savannah Shange, Joshua Taton, Noam Osband, Kevin Burke, Woody Aguilar – among many others. I am proud to learn from and stand among you all. And Chike McLoyd (RIP), your revolutionary spirit lives on. Beyond Penn there were several organizations that provided financial and academic support through these years. The American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) welcomed me into their community of scholars as a Graduate Fellow. The Association of Latin@/Latinx Anthropologists (ALLA) provided opportunities for me to gain leadership experience. Dr. Stella M. Flores and New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development granted me a Faculty-First Look Fellowship to prepare me for a career as a tenure-track professor. Dr. Victor B. Sáenz and The University of Texas at Austin’s Project MALES recognized this work with an inaugural Graduate Scholar Fellowship. The Latino Men Pursuing vi Doctorates Facebook group (modeled on the Latinas Completing Doctoral Degrees group) was a virtual space I created that took on a life of it’s own, and its members motivated me through the most difficult periods of writing. All of these sources provided momentum for completing the project, and for that I am profoundly grateful. I am the person I am becoming because there were many individuals who supported my development along the way. Dr. Brian A. Bremen at UT Austin taught me how to read. Critically, incisively, copiously. Dr. Zena Moore recommended that I pursue doctoral studies, and did so with such zeal for her own scholarly interests that she convinced me. Dr. Scott Austin (RIP) at Texas A&M University wrote the book on Parmenides. He was