Latinx Digital Exhibition
The Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research Latinx Studies Working Group will be hosting a Latinx Scholarship and Creativity symposium for the month of April. As part of the symposium three PhD students in the Department of English, Yadira Gamez, Anneke Snyder, and Elizabeth Perry, incorporated a digital project surrounding a Latinx text into their ENGL 203: Writing about Literature classroom for Spring 2021. The purpose of the projects were multifaceted in that they would:
- Introduce students into the world of digital humanities to expand the students' understandings of what research can look like in the humanities.
- Help students create arguments about texts through a visual and written assignment.
- Engage academic conversation in the larger field of Latinx studies and digital humanities at Texas A&M by participating in symposium/creating a project with the symposium in mind.
Presenters Yadira Gamez, Anneke Snyder, and Elizabeth Perry will discuss the assignment creation process, how they introduced the project into their courses and the successes and failures of their individual classes at a roundtable presentation entitled, "Digital Humanities in the English Classroom."
Digital Exhibition
Yadira Gamez's were asked to create a Digital Map or Zine for George Washington Gomez by Americo Paredes or The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez to help them understand the texts through visual space.
Kara Fiolek - "Mixing Mediums and Mixing Cultures"
"The project is titled 'Mixing Mediums and Mixing Cultures'. It is a zine that Malu would have created after her first band practice in the novel The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez. In this zine, we mix different mediums with Malu's hispanic and white culture to dive into what I believe Malu's first band practice felt like to her."
Madison Pifer - "Los Rinches"
"In exposing the less talked about side of the Texas Rangers, I hope I can encourage others to stop the heroization of this racist agency. For too long their dark past has been overlooked and I think it's time Americans begin learning about all of our history, especially the ugly parts."
Ashley Garcia - "Growing Up Biracial in America"
"The zine references a chapter in The First Rule of Punk by Celia Perez. The zine tells the story of Malu, a young Mexican American girl who struggles with her cultural and social identities. With the help of Mrs. Hidalgo, Malu embraces both sides of her identity and learns that they do not have to be mutually exclusive."
Anagha Prasad - "The Story of Punk! (and Me)"
"This is a zine that revolves around the central theme of the book The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez. The main character, Malu, goes through a significant life change, and has to come to terms with the parts of herself that she has not yet accepted. This zine is a reflection of her journey to self acceptance and the struggles she endures on the path to discovering her truest self."
Anneke Snyder's students could create any digital project based on an approved list of Latinx texts so her project types vary.
Emily Stolowski - Dominicana Website
"Carrd is a website that is used to create other websites; I decided to use this platform for my project to showcase how the protagonist, Ana, would have made her own carrd. This would be a space where she would feel safe to speak her mind, without fearing that Juan or her family might see it. Each part of the website correlates to the six parts of the book, and each part of the website would have been written during the time period of that part in the book. I tried to convey Ana's youthfulness by writing in all lowercase and talking informally."
Timothy Schaefer - "Down These Mean Streets"
"My project, which is based on Piri Thomas' memoir Down These Mean Streets, is an interactive map for all the location that each chapter takes place in. Each chapter of this book has a summary and analysis pertaining to the themes of hate, reputation, and addiction that are apparent throughout the book. The project itself can be navigated by arrow keys but works best when the map and its hyperlinks are utilized. I hope you enjoy the presentation, as Piri Thomas' experiences are truly unique and offer insight into the world of poverty, racism, and redemption."
Brittany Miller - "Like Water for Chocolate" Blog
Like Water for Chocolate began each chapter with a recipe and was followed with a story of a time that the specific recipe was cooked. The book followed the life of the narrator's great aunt Tita, and told of forbidden love that ultimately came to be. The presentation of Like Water for Chocolate takes a more modern spin on how the stories and recipes may have been shared. The blog shares a recipe and story each month and gives the followers the opportunity to engage with both the recipes, story, and writer by writing comments or sending personal messages."
Citlaly Varela Gonzalez - "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" Analysis
"Connecting an author’s experience with the readers. I analyzed the novel, and was able to connect with the narrator. I focused my analysis on the main character Julia."
Rachel Vogt - "The House on Mango Street" Website
"For this project, I read the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. The goal of my project was to create a website from the perspective of the main character, Esperanza Cordero, as an adult. She takes on the persona of a motivational speaker, a writer, a women’s advocate, and an activist for societal issues presented in the book such as sexual assault and equality for young Hispanic individuals. The website is built to function as an actual website, with a newsletter subscription option, a contact page, a working blog, working links and buttons, and more! Feel free to test it out and explore!"
Marco Ledesma - "Sinfronteras"
"Sinfronteras is a website created to explain the history of the Chicano culture that was learned by Gloria Anzaldua. A woman who was born in a small town near the Rio Grande border that separates the United States from Mexico.Anzaldua wrote the book Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, to show how her upbringing in the Chicano culture differed from the traditional culture. In her book she explains how the border is used to divide the ideals and principles of two countries. The website SinFronteras.com aims to show how Anzaldua learned from her culture, but also took the initiative to break the borders of social norms to have a voice for people like her without judgement or retribution. The website is separated into four sections labeled as Home, Maps, Faces, and Poem; each section is a contribution to Anzaldua’s upbringing to her Chicano life and how she helped others."
Hudson Railey - "George Washington Gomez" Video
"George Washington Gómez tells the story of a young boy growing up in the Rio Grande Valley during the 1930s. The book depicts the brutality of the Texas Rangers and the insidiousness of the revolution led by Gómez' Uncle Lupe and shows how the innocent are caught in the crossfire of these two wicked sides of the coin. The Banana Grove is a reading of pages 42-43 of the book and is a deep dive into a specific passage that shows readers how the harsh realities of the time affected the young and innocent imagination of George W. Gómez when he was just a child."