Narrative, Language Socialization & Identity in Doctrina vs Catechism

Research Focus and Core Thesis

• Study by Patricia Baquedano-López (1997) on narrativa activity in Spanish‐language doctrina (religious education) classes at St. Paul’s Catholic parish, Los Angeles.
• Central Question: How do teachers and students collaboratively construct social identities through the telling of the apparition narrative of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe?
• Key claim: Narrative practices simultaneously
  • forge links to traditional Mexican world views,
  • extend past experience into the present (temporal continuum),
  • and act as a site of resistance to dominant, master story lines.
• Theoretical anchors
  • Narrative as organizer of collective experience (Heidegger, Ricoeur, Polkinghorne, Bruner, Brockelman, Ochs & Capps).
  • Collective narrative ≠ mere personal narrative; it normalizes but can also contest oppression (Chatterjee 1993; Morgan 1995).
  • Language socialization = socialization through language + to language (Schieffelin & Ochs 1986).

The Guadalupe Master Story

• Apparition occurred in $1531$ at Mount Tepeyac near Mexico City.
• Protagonist: Juan Diego, an Indigenous peasant.
• Virgin appears as an Aztec, speaks Nahuatl, and requests a shrine among the conquered.
• Widely circulated in popular culture (bookmarks, candles, murals).
• Greeting‐card summary states:
  • $10$ years post-conquest.
  • Shrine built; Juan Diego dedicates $17$ years to the message.
  • About $8{,}000{,}000$ Indigenous conversions.
• Scholarly debates:
  • Two 16th-c. written sources (Nahuatl & Spanish) exist but are rarely cited in doctrina.
  • Poole (1995) argues political manipulation of the narrative across history.

Institutional Context at St. Paul’s

• Two Saturday programs, parallel but unequal:
  • Doctrina (Spanish) – founded $1979$; community‐driven; blends religion + culture.
  • Catechism (English) – follows standardized U.S. Catholic curriculum.
• Parish politics (1996): Council votes to eliminate doctrina → echoes colonial moves toward linguistic uniformity (cf. $1680$ bishop’s ban on Nahuatl; $1770$ Spanish decree enforcing Castilian).
• Parishioner quote: “I talk to God in the language of the heart.”

Doctrina Demographics

• $42$ students, ages $6\text{–}15$.
• Mostly recent Mexican immigrants; bilingual; working-class; public-school attendees.
• Teachers: Mexican‐descent, monolingual Spanish speakers.

Catechism Demographics

• $15$ students, ages $6\text{–}9$; multi-ethnic (Latino, Asian-, Euro-American); slightly higher SES.
• Teacher Nancy: Euro-American, monolingual English.
• Meets one hour earlier; minimal cross-group contact.

Historical Trajectory of Doctrina

• Colonial Mexico: daily classes in native languages; “doctrina” could denote entire converted towns.
• $1680$ Mexquitic bishop mandates Castilian only → intertwines religious & linguistic conversion.
• $1770$ royal decree extends Castilian teaching across Mexico.
• Present reversal: In LA parish, Spanish (once colonizer’s tongue) now functions as local Indigenous language threatened by English-only policies.

Data & Methodology

• Corpus: Video, audio, field notes, interviews collected over $20$ months (Sept $1994$ – May $1996$).
• Primary focal class: Teresa’s doctrina; comparison class: Nancy’s catechism.

Discursive Construction of Identities in Doctrina

A. Establishing “We Mexicans” (Example 1)

• Teresa pauses narrative to ask: Quiénes son de México? → students raise hands.
• Recasts question with inclusive first-person plural Quiénes somos de México? → teacher aligns herself with students.
• Even U.S.-born Carlos claims identity via parents: “Mis madres son de México.”
• Outcome: Collective “we” formed; Mexican present inserted into 16th-c. storyline.

B. Narrating Oppression via Spanish Imperfective (Example 2)

• Teresa uses imperfective aspect to paint an in-progress, immersive colonial scene:
  • había mucha opresión (there was oppression),
  • Spaniards oprimían (were oppressing),
  • querían tener sometidos (wanted to keep [Indians] subjugated).
• Abrupt switch to perfective past: esto no le pareció a la Virgen → signals turning point; oppression becomes motive for apparition.
• Class later quizzed: Virgen came to rescue Indians from Spanish oppression (Example 3).

C. Skin-Color as Ethnic Marker (Example 4)

• Virgin described as morenita (“slightly dark”) como nosotros → links divine figure to students’ phenotype.
• Contrast: White Virgen del Carmen = patroness of Spain (oppressors).
• Result: Racialized identity (“dark-skinned, oppressed Indians”) fused with Mexican ethnicity and present-day self.

D. Temporal–Spatial Blending

• Narrative links students to Mexico in place (birthplace) & in time (colonial Indians) while acknowledging they are also de aquí (LA/USA).
• Embodies Anzaldúa’s “borderlands” existence.

Comparative Frame: Catechism Class (Nancy)

• Pedagogical style: Recitational listing of multiple Marian apparitions; uses present perfect for generic fact (Mary has appeared) and simple past for individual cases.
• Ethnic inclusivity presented as cosmetic shapeshifting: Mary looks Indian in Mexico, French in Lourdes, Japanese in Japan, “would appear Hawaiian if she did.”
• Lacks historical context or oppression narrative; promotes a generic, multicultural American identity.
• Interaction minimally collaborative; students not invited to insert personal experience.

Language Socialization Take-Aways

• Doctrina sessions socialize children to
  • use Spanish for sacred/affective domains,
  • construct collective ethnic memory,
  • practice affiliative discourse strategies (questions, inclusive pronouns, aspect choice).
• Catechism socializes toward
  • English as default religious language,
  • depoliticized, pan-ethnic worldview,
  • passive learner roles.

Ethical, Philosophical & Practical Implications

• Elimination of doctrina = loss of heritage language domain and community-specific identity work.
• Illustrates how language policy decisions can either sustain or erode minority cultural capital.
• Shows narrative as both theology and social theory, offering marginalized groups a lens to interpret oppression.

Key Concepts & Terms

• Doctrina – Spanish-language religious instruction; historically tied to missionary activity.
• Catechism – standardized English religious instruction.
• Collective Narrative – story organizing group experience across time.
• Imperfective Aspect ($-aba, -ía$) – views action from inside; used for vivid, affiliative storytelling.
• Language Socialization – mutual process of acquiring linguistic competence & cultural norms.
• Master Story Line – dominant version of a narrative that may be resisted by subaltern tellings.

Chronology & Numeric Data (LaTeX format)

• Conquest $\approx 1521$ → Apparition $1531$.
• Apparition recounted $10$ years post-conquest; Juan Diego’s service $17$ years.
• Conversions: $8\times10^{6}$ Indigenous people.
• Colonial linguistic mandates: $1680$ (Mexquitic), $1770$ (Spanish decree).
• Doctrina founded $1979$; parish vote to abolish $1996$.
• Tuition at St. Paul’s Elementary: $\$200$/month (1995-6).
• Study corpus: $20$ months, $42$ doctrina students, $15$ catechism students.

Major Scholars & Works Cited

• Narrative/time: Heidegger $1962$; Ricoeur $1985/1988$; Polkinghorne $1988$; Bruner $1990$.
• Collective resistance: Chatterjee $1993$; Morgan $1995$.
• Language socialization founders: Schieffelin & Ochs $1986$.
• Guadalupe historiography: Poole $1995$; Rodriguez $1994$.

Possible Exam Reflections

• Contrast Teresa’s use of the Spanish imperfective with Nancy’s use of English tense forms.
• Evaluate how language choice (Spanish vs. English) shapes theological meaning and identity politics.
• Discuss narrative as a tool of both religious pedagogy and social resistance.
• Predict effects of English-only policies on minority religious education.

Meta-Level Study Tips

• Map each narrative excerpt to the identity category it constructs (national, racial, historical).
• Memorize key dates ($1531$, $1680$, $1770$, $1979$, $1996$) and their policy relevance.
• Practice identifying grammatical cues (aspect, pronouns, tense) that signal shifts from story-world to classroom-world.
• Cross-reference scholars for theoretical essay questions (e.g., link Chatterjee’s ‘master story’ to Teresa’s counter-narration).