Tales from the Chihuahuan Desert: Borderlands Narratives

FAIN: ES-250806-16

University of Texas, El Paso (El Paso, TX 79968-8900)
R. Joseph Rodriguez (Project Director: February 2016 to December 2019)

A two-week institute for twenty-five secondary schoolteachers, to be held at University of Texas-El Paso, that would examine historical and literary narratives of the Chihuahuan Desert people.

The 2017 NEH Summer Seminar for Teachers will provide 16 secondary school teachers in grades 6–12 with two weeks of intense, guided exploration of borderland narratives from the Chihuahuan Desert—a culturally and politically significant region for instructional consideration and critical research encompassing 139,000 square miles across several Mexican states and parts of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Building on the ethnohistorical work and narratology, we argue that the Chihuahuan Desert’s wide geographic space serves as a useful metaphor in conceptualizing the historical and cultural evolution of border identities, which are the product of space adaptations and bi-national influences. To that end, the Seminar will largely, but not exclusively, focus on the El Paso–Cd Juárez metroplex. The Seminar will provide teachers with a focused understanding of the dynamic nature and literacies of border people’s narratives and of their social, cultural, and political adaptations across time.

Associated Products

NEH Summer Institute, Tales from the Chihuahuan Desert: Borderlands Narratives about Identity and Binationalism (Web Resource)
Title: NEH Summer Institute, Tales from the Chihuahuan Desert: Borderlands Narratives about Identity and Binationalism
Author: The University of Texas at El Paso, Academic Technologies, Creative Studios Team
Abstract: The 2017 Institute web site provides background, concepts, and information about the Institute’s programming, outcomes, and structure. Following the U.S. Web Design Standards Images from the U.S. Digital Services Playbook, the site supports accessibility and readability by users. It was developed by the UTEP Academic Technologies, Creative Studios team. The site is updated quarterly with content received from the 2017 Summer Scholars, current news features on the Chihuahuan Desert borderlands. It will be updated for future Summer Institutes and prospective Summer Scholars.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: http://borderlandsnarratives.utep.edu
Primary URL Description: The 2017 Institute web site provides background, concepts, and information about the Institute’s programming, outcomes, and structure.
Secondary URL Description: Following the U.S. Web Design Standards Images from the U.S. Digital Services Playbook, the site supports accessibility and readability by users.

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