Making and Molding Identity in Schools

Ann Locke Davidson is Research Associate at the Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh. She is coeditor, with Patricia Phelan, of Renegotiating Cultural Diversity in American Schools.

• List of Tables Acknowledgments Introduction: Way to an Inquiry PART I. FRAMES ON IDENTITY AND ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT 1. The Politics of Identity: Historical and Theoretical Contexts 2. Youths' Frames on Engagement PART II. DISCIPLINARY TECHNOLOGIES RESISTED: UNCONVENTIONAL DENTIES 3. Marbella Sanchez on Marginalization and Silencing 4. Carla Chávez on Masking and Isolation PART III. DOMINANT DISCOURSES ACCEPTED: CONFORMIST INDENTIES 5. Sonia Gonzales on Craziness 6. Ryan Moore on Fitting In PART IV. EMPOWERING SPEECH ACTS: ENCOURAGING TRANCULTURAL DENTIES 7. Johnnie Betts on Recasting the Self 8. Patricia Schmidt on Alternative Discourse PART V. EPILOGUE 9. Epilogue Notes References Index

"I liked this book for several reasons. First, it provided me with a fairly good overview of the discourse in anthropology and education that deals with ethnic or racial identity and the schooling process. Second, it suggests that schools can make a difference and that students do not react to schooling in a neatly predictable way according to their ethnic or racial identity. It suggests, then, that schools can be important cultural sites for the reconstruction of identity consistent with the empowerment of marginalized youth and that they can challenge power relations and beliefs in the dominant culture. Finally, I liked the book because of its attempt to understand all of these issues through a presentation and interpretation of several stories of youth in school." — Dennis L. Carlson, Miami University