Una herida abierta: Considerations for (re)theorizing the border in teaching and research

Abstract

No term defined the last U.S. presidency, and public discourse accompanying it, more so than “the Wall” and, with it, the U.S.-Mexico border more broadly. That discourse, however, has mostly been characterized by an a-historic, unproblematized, and under-theorized notion of “border.” Our experiences as curriculum scholars and teacher educators have illustrated that a similar stance about the border has taken place in public education. We begin from the assumption that the border is very real, but it is socially constructed and maintained, and impacts different groups differently. Borders are thus not only geographic markers but political, cultural, economic, and psychological disruptors of places and those living in them. In order to better understand these complex dimensions, we engage in an extended analysis of two cases, the U.S.-Mexico border and the internal displacement of the Rohingya of Myanmar, building upon prior theorizing by considering both the discursive and affective dimensions of each and implications for curriculum and pedagogy. The paper concludes with suggestions for applying these considerations in practice and questions for future inquiry.

Keywords:

• Border
• curriculum
• theories
• affect
• global education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Texts in Spanish references above are cited from Duarte-Herrera (2001).

Additional information

Funding

Data from classrooms presented in the early part of the paper was collected as part of a larger, collaborative research project supported by the Spencer Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Scott Jarvie

Scott Jarvie is an Assistant Professor of English Education at San Jose State University. His scholarship examines the experiences of teachers, particularly in high school English classrooms, through perspectives drawn from the humanities, educational philosophy, and curriculum theory. Scott has recently published in journals including English Education, The International Review of Qualitative Research, Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, and Changing English.

Avner Segall

Avner Segall is a Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University. He is interested in how particular versions and visions of education, teaching, and learning are made possible during preservice teacher education as well as what they make possible for students learning to teach. His research interests focus on secondary social studies education, critical theory and pedagogy, cultural studies, media education, and qualitative research methods.

William Gaudelli

William Gaudelli is Dean of the College of Education at Lehigh University. Dean Gaudelli’s career spans 30 years as a classroom teacher, researcher, professor, and seasoned administrator. A prominent international scholar, his research areas focus on global citizenship education and teacher education and development.