When Half is Whole: Developing Synergistic Identities and Mestiza Consciousness

This is an exploration of the ways in which individuals construct whole selves in societies that fragment, label, and bind us in categories and boxes. We examine identities that overcome the destructive dichotomies of us and them, crossing borders of race, ethnicity, culture, nation, sex, and gender. Our focus is on the development of hybrid and synergistic forms of identity and mestiza consciousness in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.