About MigrantVoices D.C.
MigrantVoices D.C. is the final deliverable of a capstone project for Georgetown University’s Center for Latin American Studies Master of Arts program.
With the goal of educating trainees on Latin American migration experiences, the course combines the first hand accounts and creative productions of migrants in D.C. with secondary research on Latin American social, political, and economic contexts; the Latin American migration journey in the Americas; and migration to Washington, D.C.
Our Methodology
The centerpiece of the project is Photovoice, a community-based participatory research method that invites participants to share their experiences through photographs and personal narratives.
The theoretical underpinnings of Photovoice posit the methodology as one that views participants as experts, rejects a subject/object dichotomy, and empowers participants in the research process.
We interviewed five migrants living in D.C., all of which shared three photovoice responses based on their migration journey, their community, and their hopes and dreams for the future. The narratives they shared helped shape the training course.
Photovoice responses are built into the website and course in their raw format to underscore the importance of learning directly from migrants rather than through our interpretation of their experiences. Similarly, it was incredibly important to us that we maintain the integrity of our protagonists’ narratives by keeping their stories in their own words in Spanish.
Reflecting on Migrant Narratives
In our course, we emphasize the importance of reflection. Rather than a traditional knowledge test we end each lesson with reflection questions. The voices, quotes, and original photos of migrants serve as the primary teaching materials. In centering migrant voices and creating the space for migrants to share their stories, we underscore and advocate for the humanity of all migrants.
In order to ensure lesson objectives are met, team’s using the course are encouraged to use our facilitation guide
Reflection questions and the facilitation guide promote the practice of learning, unlearning, and re-learning in the pursuit of political and critical education.
Trainees should not be expected to leave the course as “experts,” rather, they should be confident in their ability to engage their critical reflection skills when further exposed to narratives of migration.
Above all else, the course emphasizes the responsibility of trainees to acknowledge and reflect upon their own positioning, privileges, experiences, and responsibilities in relation to migration.
