Exploring Borderlands Narratives about Identity and Binationalism

With NEH support, the University of Texas at El Paso developed Tales from the Chihuahuan Desert: Borderlands Narratives about Identity and Binationalism, a professional development program for educators. Over the course of two weeks, educators representing grades 6-12 explore the literature and narratives of the borderlands at the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez metroplex. Participants leave the program with a more nuanced understanding of the histories and cultures of an often misunderstood and stereotyped region that is pivotal to the broader American story, as well as implementable techniques to bring the region and its storytelling into their classrooms.

“This workshop helped me reimagine the power of art and formal dialogue as a means of culturally-responsive pedagogy. It challenged me to think about the types of dialogue and collaboration that students are having in the classroom.”

–2019 program attendee

Throughout the program, participants explore how the borderlands are constructed through different storytellers over time. Historical documents and maps of the Chihuahuan Desert are read alongside more recent texts, such as Erika Sánchez’s I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter and Valeria Luiselli’s Tell Me How It Ends. Participants visit historic sites, such as the Chamizal National Memorial and the Union Pacific Railroad’s Santa Teresa Terminal, where a hands-on learning experience is modeled. Reflecting on how the workshop impacted their approach to teaching, one participant said: “The workshop reminded me of the importance of field trips and hands-on learning.”

Facts & Figures

100%

of participants reported “significant” or “transformative” growth as an educator as a result of participating in this workshop.

Facts & Figures

93%

of survey respondents reported sharing resources they acquired through this workshop with other teachers at their school.

By the end of the two weeks, educators develop an e-portfolio ready for classroom implementation, guided by pedagogical strategies introduced by project directors and with feedback and support from their fellow attendees. In a survey of participants one year after the workshop, respondents reported that they focused more on using multiple perspectives and narratives to understand complex issues and challenged students to use their own perspectives and experiences. Reflecting on the most important takeaway from the workshop, one respondent wrote, “I placed a larger emphasis on narratives and leveraged my students’ own narratives into teaching them how to read, interpret, and appreciate the narratives of others (especially other marginalized people).”