National Divisions, Transnational Ties: Constructing Social and Civic Identities in Postwar El Salvador

This article examines the informal and implicit processes of identity formation in two Salvadoran schools representing opposite sides of the socioeconomic and ideological divide in postwar El Salvador. Through detailed ethnographic research, I show how both of these schools reproduce national divisions by socializing students into separate class and political identities. At the same time, I show that students' participation in transnational networks disrupts the seamless reproduction of dominant class-based identities, occasioning a moment of critical reflection that has the potential to counter local arrangements of power. I suggest that students' knowledge of and experience in the Salvadoran diaspora offer Salvadoran educators a unique opportunity for civic education that has the potential to bridge some of El Salvador's divides.