Social Analytic Artifacts Made Concrete: A Study of Learning and Political Education

In an educational setting designed for high-school-aged migrant students, social analytic artifacts—tools that deepen the collective analysis of social problems—were examined in relation to two questions: What kinds of artifacts were developed and emphasized in this setting? How and toward what ends did students use these artifacts? This article describes how students appropriated two artifacts—heteroglossic attunement and semantic sharpening—to engage in consequential forms of intellectual, social, and political work. Findings highlight (a) the pedagogical role of epistemic openness, (b) students’ perceptions of new problems and decisions to intervene, and (c) the development of solidarity across difference.