TALES FROM THE CHIHUAHUAN DESERT:

NEH Summer Institute

A Summer Institute (Residential) for Secondary School Teachers (Grades 6–12) at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in collaboration with Center for Inter-American and Border Studies (CIBS) and Institute of Oral History (IOH)

July 16th – July 30th, 2023


Applications Closed

Institute Content

UTEP NEH R. Joseph Rodriguez Richard Pettit and Ignacio Martinez 201713521832 1432339760124861 3552165713390571971 nYsleta Del Sur Church Mission 2014 Credit Unknown

This NEH Summer Institute will incorporate a variety of methods in telling the story of border people for use in providing content and pedagogical training for 6–12 educators and will adopt a diverse set of instructional methods with the aim of benefiting teaching and scholarship in the humanities.The Institute 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.

As an integral component of the Institute, Summer Scholars will have the opportunity to take part in individual classroom-implementation projects such as e-portfolios with instructional lesson plans that will provide them with content knowledge applicable to a wide range of secondary grade levels (6-12). In particular, subject areas include History, English Language Arts, Literature and other related fields; geographic locations; and time periods.

Each week we will focus on a broad theme related to borderlands narratives. View our Essential Question and Learning Outcomes.

Please download the Principles of Civility for NEH Institutes for encouraging an ethos of openness and respect, upholding the basic norms of civil discourse.

Week One will introduce the concept of historiography, foundational concepts and terms, the role of the chronicler, geographies of the Chihuahuan Desert, and resources for classroom application and analysis for the e-portfolio development projects with units and lesson plans for instructional delivery.

Week Two will advance the concept of historiography with narratology, classroom applications of Seminar concepts and content, and presentation of Summer Scholars’ e-portfolios with instructional lesson plans for delivery. In addition to classroom work, we will visit a number of historical sites around the El Paso/Juárez metroplex. Summer Scholars will be tasked with comparing and synthesizing various perspectives offered by our invited faculty and guest lecturers in order to make important connections across time and space. Along the way, invited scholars will develop e-portfolios that will allow them to incorporate teaching material for their students.

Upon completion of the Institute, NEH Summer Scholars will receive a certificate indicating their participation.


Center Image Photo Credit: The photo was taken during the tour of the El Paso Mission Trail on July 22nd, 2017, at the Mission Valley Visitors Information Center / Sun Metro Nestor Valencia Transfer Center, 9065 Alameda Avenue, El Paso, TX 79907.

These two centers are located across from the Ysleta Mission (Ysleta del Sur Pueblo) within the municipality of El Paso, Texas.

Left to Right: R. Joseph Rodríguez (The University of Texas at El Paso, Department of English), Richard Pettit (National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Education Programs), and Ignacio Martínez (The University of Texas at El Paso, Department of History).

Photo Credit: Talía González (UTEP NEH Summer Institute)