Una Mapa de Metas

A Map of My Goals

So far, we have been focusing our energies on navigating the quaint and maze-like streets of Guanajuato, reading maps and road signs, having fun wandering and getting lost and un-lost. Tonight I am focusing on a more abstract map. Tomorrow I meet with the chair of the Departamento de Letras Hispánicas and the coordinator of the graduate studies program at the Universidad de Guanajuato to discuss my teaching responsibilities and other ways I might participate in their academic programs while I am here. The plan is for me to teach a course on the Literature of the U.S. West to master's level literature students. So, I have been reflecting on my core goals for this Fulbright-García Robles experience.

1. I aim to deepen my understanding of the West (or el Norte, as it is called in México) by learning more about México's history and literature and how they interface with the history and literature of the United States. My scholarly and creative interests have been focused on the American West, my homeland, since my college days. I am fascinated by how the mythology of the West - of cowboys and rugged individualism and manifest destiny - has shaped the larger American story and national identity. And the West's mythology keeps shifting: contemporary western literature in particular encourages us to think of the relationship between space (landscape and architecture) and our sense of belonging, and it encourages us to think of how cultural exchanges (rather than conquest) create a vital and meaningful mythology to make sense of how we live in the West today. My studies of the West provide a door for me to enter into a study of México, and my studies of México I hope will provide new insights into my familiar West.

2. I want to challenge my interpretations of key works of American literature by teaching them in a different cultural context. I am so curious as to how students' questions and comments will be similar and different to those I've encountered from students in the U.S. A defining theme of the books we will study is one of shifting cultural terrain, so the books will provide a particularly pertinent subject for cross-cultural dialogue.

3. I hope to improve my ability to serve Latinos and to promote positive cross-cultural relations in my home community in Idaho. At our neighborhood elementary school, 60% of the students are Latino. Right now, I know of two College of Southern Idaho students who are here in Guanajuato visiting their hometowns. Geoffrey at Cafe Tal yesterday told me that Guanajuato has the highest migration rate to the U.S. of any state in Mexico. I believe our community is made stronger by meaningful cross-cultural collaborations, and I hope that by increasing my fluency in Spanish and my understanding of Mexican history and culture, I can contribute to such collaborations.