Indigenous Youth Identities: Influence of the Transitions to University and Urban Contexts. The Case of Chiapas, Mexico

The present paper analyzes the processes of change and construction of the ethnic identity in young indigenous university students. The ethnographic method and elements of the life course perspective were used to produce the information. The participants study in three universities in Chiapas with different pedagogical models: conventional, intercultural and intercultural bilingual. The results indicate that the process of change and construction of ethnic identity is influenced by two moments in the life course of these young people. The first is the transition to the urban context, in which the identity phases of adaptation and denial are presented. The second is the transition to the university, in which the revaluation phase was identified, it acquired different nuances in each institution depending on the context, university discourse, as well as the interactions with teachers and students.