Benson Rare Book Collection (Primary Sources)

Benson Rare Book Collection (Primary Sources)

Digitized books in the Benson’s Rare Book Collection encompassing a wide variety of topics relating to Spanish and Latin America, including literature, histories, travel accounts, and secondary sources.

Mapping Mexican History: Territories in Dispute, Identities in Question (Exhibition)

Mapping Mexican History: Territories in Dispute, Identities in Question (Exhibition)

The exhibition focuses on three distinct moments when maps played an integral role in the transformation of Mexico and its political geography. In the sixteenth century, early colonial pictographic maps drawn by indigenous artists reflect the growth of Spanish colonial administration. In the eighteenth century, new maps of Mexico’s principal cities serve as both representations and instruments of the viceregal government’s efforts to re-order and regulate Mexican social life and public spaces. In the nineteenth century, maps are central to the military struggle for independence and the defense of contested national borders.

Indigenous Borderlands (Unit)

Indigenous Borderlands (Unit)

Through an experiential learning format, this 6-week plan is divided in three segments, each corresponding to the steps of the development of a digital project: theory, design and building of digital product, and public outreach. It has been designed to incorporate digital praxis into your courses, and move from theory to praxis.

Juárez-Lincoln University: Community, Space, and Education (Unit)

Juárez-Lincoln University: Community, Space, and Education (Unit)

Students will learn about Mexican Americans’ struggle to keep and create space and place in their community. Students will learn about Juárez-Lincoln University/Cultural Center and its role in local Mexican American history. Students will create a plan for their own community educational/art space including pedagogical strategies, programming, branding, and facilities.

Activism in America: The Economy Furniture Strike (Unit)

Activism in America: The Economy Furniture Strike (Unit)

Students will learn about US social movements through the Economy Furniture strike in Austin, Texas. Students will critically engage with movement materials and create their own social justice campaigns and related campaign materials which may include but are not limited to posters, buttons, pamphlets, and protest signs.

Dr. George I. Sanchez: History of Mexican Americans and their Struggle for Educational Equality (Unit)

Dr. George I. Sanchez: History of Mexican Americans and their Struggle for Educational Equality (Unit)

Students will learn about the work and life of educational scholar and activist, Dr. George I. Sanchez. Topics for critical exploration include Sanchez’s educational research, legal assistance, Mexican American organizations, Bilingual Education, Pan-Americanism, and Chicano Civil Rights. Students will make either a hand written/drawn zine or a digital zine based on the students’ preference and availability of materials and technology.