“going to college was a way of me, you know dando las gracias a mis papás”

José Luis (pseudonym)

Theoretical Framework
Calling

Methodology
36 Semi-structured interviews
Open-coding guided by Owen’s (1984)
Critical Discourse Analysis

Project Narrative

Stemming from my doctoral research, this project has been personally and professionally fulfilling. In this project I propose that “callings,” as they have been understood academically, do not adequately describe the experiences of Latin American immigrants and their children. Instead, I suggest that Latin American immigrants and their children have an integrated calling. In my dissertation I presented this idea as an “intergenerational calling” but later decided that “integrated” was a better term for what I was describing (thank you to one of my reviewers for suggesting this!). “Integrated callings” are fulfilled by multiple people who feel that their occupational journeys are connected.

Related Publications

Sánchez Sánchez, V. (2021). “Dando las gracias a mis papás”: a discursive analysis of perceptions of policy and callings across generations of Latinx immigrants. Journal of Communication, 71(6), 976-1000. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqab037

* If you do not have access to the Journal of Communication the article will be behind a paywall. I do not receive any of the money associated with this publication. If you want to know more about my work and aren’t able to access the article, please reach out to me using my contact form.

* A second publication is in progress

Related Awards

Top Paper in the Organizational Communication Division of NCA 
Awarded for the manuscript titled “‘To be a good immigrant…’: How d/Discourses become barriers in the enactment of integrated callings” at NCA’s 108^th Annual Convention

Gerald R. Miller Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award
Awarded for the dissertation “‘Dando las gracias a mis papás’: A discursive analysis of perceptions of policy and ‘callings’ across generations of Latinx immigrants” at NCA’s 106^th Annual Convention. I was one of only 3 recipients.

Top Paper in the Organizational Communication Division of NCA 
Awarded for the manuscript titled “‘Dando las gracias a mis papás’: A discursive analysis of perceptions of policy and callings across generations of Latinx immigrants” at NCA’s 106^th Annual Convention. This article is published in the Journal of Communication.