Nepantla, Spiritual Activism, New Tribalism: Chicana Feminist Transformative Pedagogies and Social Justice Education

In this paper, I propose that Gloria Anzaldua's philosophy offers pedagogical and epistemological tools for social justice and human rights education and theory. I propose that Anzaldua's conceptualizations are helpful to re-thinking Western based human rights frameworks by including indigenous worldviews. In this vein, I examine how conceptualizations, such as Nepantla, Spiritual Activism, and New Tribalism, can inform the development of transformative pedagogies for social justice education and praxis. Their significance lies in their ability to offer multifaceted examinations of multiple forms of oppression and agency. At the same time, Anzaldua provided us with innovative tools to work across differences. I argue as well that the methodology of testimonio is helpful in this process because it offers tools to work in solidarity with different communities and voice multiple perspectives. I conclude by offering pedagogical strategies for social justice education and praxis.