Pamela Sertzen | Ithaca College (original) (raw)
Papers by Pamela Sertzen
Journal of Latin American Geography, 2016
Based on research in the Totonacapan region in Veracruz, Mexico, we examine left-behind children’... more Based on research in the Totonacapan region in Veracruz, Mexico, we examine left-behind children’s perceptions of migration to the United States (“el otro lado”) as manifest in their complex understandings of the journey, landscapes of urban life, social (space/interactions), and material culture. We privilege young children’s perceptions about the migration experience through writing and drawing activities. While multiple factors shape children’s perceptions, the migration stories of adults and older youth are among the most present influences. By focusing on children aged eight and nine, we demonstrate the young age at which narratives about migration processes are already ingrained. The so called “surge” of unaccompanied migrant children to the USA in 2014 highlights the need to pay attention to left-behind youths’ ideas about migration. We find that left-behind children’s narratives demonstrate astute perceptions of urban life and economic amenities in the USA, as well as of migrants’ risky journeys. These narratives also demonstrate clear tensions between what the children perceive as the life conditions that await migrants on the other side and the risky journey that they feel migrants must undertake.
Planning Theory & Practice, 2014
In this article we discuss our efforts to develop a gender-based vermiculture1 pilot project in L... more In this article we discuss our efforts to develop a gender-based vermiculture1 pilot project in Los
Platanitos, an informal settlement in the municipality Santo Domingo Norte (SDN), Dominican
Republic (DR). The vermiculture project was initiated during a University of Texas at Austin
(UT-Austin) service-learning course in 2012 and was developed in partnership with the community
organizations Mujeres Unidas and Fundacio´n Los Platanitos (FUMPLA); non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) FUNDSAZURZA, Comite´ Para los Derechos Barriales (COPADEBA) and
Centro de Investigacio´n y Acompan˜amiento de Mujeres y Familia (CIAMF); and the planning
departments of SDN and Santo Domingo Distrito Nacional. While this project has the potential to
remediate the solid waste problem in Los Platanitos, it is also, in many ways, reflective of the
risks associated with community-driven planning in the neoliberal, institutional landscape in the
DR. Although our project contributed to gender development and capacity building for
community-based solid waste management, our ongoing engagement in Los Platanitos may also,
ironically, be facilitating the withdrawal of the state from the provision of basic services.
For my parents, César and Gloria Sertzen, and my brother, César Iván. . v Acknowledgements This t... more For my parents, César and Gloria Sertzen, and my brother, César Iván. . v Acknowledgements This thesis would have never happened without my Brazilian roommates during my first year of the master's program in Austin, Andrea Almeida Cavalcante, Davi Lima Pantoja Leite, and Bruno Marinoni. Endless conversations with them made me realize that I really wanted to pursue this project. I would like to thank Rebecca Torres, my advisor and committee chair, for supporting me throughout this process and providing the necessary guidance when I went astray. Paul Adams and Lorraine Leu were complementary committee members and pushed me beyond my comfort zone and questioned my analysis in a constructive and helpful way. Both invited me to present my experiences in their undergraduate classes, which sort of got me writing (!) and reminded me to stay passionate about my work. In addition, Carrie Kaplan provided insightful, speedy proof-reading when I was down to the wire. The women of the geography program supplied much needed camaraderie during my time at the University of Texas. I will be forever indebted to Solange Munoz because she saved me the first semester and constantly reminded me to think of my thesis (also known as T) as a really big paper. Kathleen Shafer made me work smarter and harder. María Jose de la Rota Aguilera calmed my nerves about graduate school more than once and Renata Ponte reminded me to have fun. Naya Jones made me feel calmer and prompted me to take care of myself. Bisola Falola became my partner in crime once I started writing seriously and helped me through more than one writing and/or map crisis in the hot Austin summer.
Planning Theory & Practice, 2014
Letras Verdes. Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Socioambientales, 2015
Journal of Latin American Geography, 2016
Based on research in the Totonacapan region in Veracruz, Mexico, we examine left-behind children’... more Based on research in the Totonacapan region in Veracruz, Mexico, we examine left-behind children’s perceptions of migration to the United States (“el otro lado”) as manifest in their complex understandings of the journey, landscapes of urban life, social (space/interactions), and material culture. We privilege young children’s perceptions about the migration experience through writing and drawing activities. While multiple factors shape children’s perceptions, the migration stories of adults and older youth are among the most present influences. By focusing on children aged eight and nine, we demonstrate the young age at which narratives about migration processes are already ingrained. The so called “surge” of unaccompanied migrant children to the USA in 2014 highlights the need to pay attention to left-behind youths’ ideas about migration. We find that left-behind children’s narratives demonstrate astute perceptions of urban life and economic amenities in the USA, as well as of migrants’ risky journeys. These narratives also demonstrate clear tensions between what the children perceive as the life conditions that await migrants on the other side and the risky journey that they feel migrants must undertake.
Planning Theory & Practice, 2014
In this article we discuss our efforts to develop a gender-based vermiculture1 pilot project in L... more In this article we discuss our efforts to develop a gender-based vermiculture1 pilot project in Los
Platanitos, an informal settlement in the municipality Santo Domingo Norte (SDN), Dominican
Republic (DR). The vermiculture project was initiated during a University of Texas at Austin
(UT-Austin) service-learning course in 2012 and was developed in partnership with the community
organizations Mujeres Unidas and Fundacio´n Los Platanitos (FUMPLA); non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) FUNDSAZURZA, Comite´ Para los Derechos Barriales (COPADEBA) and
Centro de Investigacio´n y Acompan˜amiento de Mujeres y Familia (CIAMF); and the planning
departments of SDN and Santo Domingo Distrito Nacional. While this project has the potential to
remediate the solid waste problem in Los Platanitos, it is also, in many ways, reflective of the
risks associated with community-driven planning in the neoliberal, institutional landscape in the
DR. Although our project contributed to gender development and capacity building for
community-based solid waste management, our ongoing engagement in Los Platanitos may also,
ironically, be facilitating the withdrawal of the state from the provision of basic services.
For my parents, César and Gloria Sertzen, and my brother, César Iván. . v Acknowledgements This t... more For my parents, César and Gloria Sertzen, and my brother, César Iván. . v Acknowledgements This thesis would have never happened without my Brazilian roommates during my first year of the master's program in Austin, Andrea Almeida Cavalcante, Davi Lima Pantoja Leite, and Bruno Marinoni. Endless conversations with them made me realize that I really wanted to pursue this project. I would like to thank Rebecca Torres, my advisor and committee chair, for supporting me throughout this process and providing the necessary guidance when I went astray. Paul Adams and Lorraine Leu were complementary committee members and pushed me beyond my comfort zone and questioned my analysis in a constructive and helpful way. Both invited me to present my experiences in their undergraduate classes, which sort of got me writing (!) and reminded me to stay passionate about my work. In addition, Carrie Kaplan provided insightful, speedy proof-reading when I was down to the wire. The women of the geography program supplied much needed camaraderie during my time at the University of Texas. I will be forever indebted to Solange Munoz because she saved me the first semester and constantly reminded me to think of my thesis (also known as T) as a really big paper. Kathleen Shafer made me work smarter and harder. María Jose de la Rota Aguilera calmed my nerves about graduate school more than once and Renata Ponte reminded me to have fun. Naya Jones made me feel calmer and prompted me to take care of myself. Bisola Falola became my partner in crime once I started writing seriously and helped me through more than one writing and/or map crisis in the hot Austin summer.
Planning Theory & Practice, 2014
Letras Verdes. Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Socioambientales, 2015