Javier D. Durán, Professor of Spanish and Border Studies and Director of the Confluence Center for Creative Inquiry, University of Arizona
Verónica Reyes-Escudero, Katheryne B. Willock Head of Special Collections, University of Arizona Libraries
Wednesday, September 21, 2022, 2:30-3:30 pm, ASA Koffler Great Room
Broadening public understanding of the complexity of migration issues along the U.S.-Mexico border is one major goal of a current research and archiving project jointly undertaken by the Confluence Center for Creative Inquiry at the University of Arizona and the University of Arizona Libraries Special Collections. The project, “Reclaiming the Border Narrative: Storytelling and Cultural Power for Migrant Justice,” received a $1.18 million grant from the Ford Foundation to support creation of a community-led archive of materials from more than forty previously funded projects involving border activism, art, journalism, and storytelling. Primary investigators Javier Durán and Verónica Reyes-Escudero will describe the project and how they hope to alter perceptions of chaos and danger along the border by highlighting firsthand accounts from those who live, work, and serve there.
Dr. Javier Durán is a specialist in cultural and literary studies along the U.S.-Mexico border. His areas of teaching and research include U.S.-Mexican border studies, Latin American women writers, Mexican literature and culture,
and Chicana/Chicano-Latina/Latino narrative. He is the author of the book José Revueltas: Una poética de la disidencia, five co-edited books on Cultural Studies, and numerous articles on literary and cultural themes. Dr. Durán is the past President of the Association for Borderland Studies.
Verónica Reyes-Escudero is the Katheryne B. Willock Head of Special Collections at the University of Arizona Libraries. She most recently served as the Borderlands Curator and Instruction Coordinator for Special Collections, working with donors, faculty and students using special collections materials and engaging the community through events that highlight the archive’s rich holdings on the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. She recently co-authored the book, Latinos in Libraries, Museums, and Archives: Cultural Competence in Action! An Asset-Based Approach.
Compiled by Marilyn Skinner, Academy Village Volunteer