Scholar to Explore Mexican American Identity in 2 Presentations for WT’s CSAW

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas - A regional expert on Mexican American communities will discuss culture and identity in two upcoming events for West Texas A&M University's Center for the Study of the American West.

Dr. Cordelia Barrera, associate professor of Latinx literature and American Southwest at Texas Tech University, will give presentations both on the WT campus and at the Wesley Community Center in Amarillo.

Barrera will present "Becoming Mexican American in the Southern Plains: Identity and Community" at 2 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Thunder Room in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on WT's Canyon campus. Refreshments will be served.

Then, Barrera will present "Forgotten Frontera: Community and Belonging" at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Wesley, 1615 S. Roberts St. in Amarillo. Dinner and loteria games begin at 6:30. Barrera, WT faculty members and Amarillo community members will take part in a discussion panel.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Barrera's appearance is made possible through a $150,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant won by CSAW in 2022.

"This year of the grant covers the Civil Rights Era to the present, and Dr. Barrera will be discussing the ways that the Latin American/Mexican American community on the Southern Plains has changed and grown over recent decades," said Dr. Alex Hunt, CSAW director, Regents Professor of English and Vincent-Haley Professor of Western Studies.

The Forgotten Frontera project began in 2018 as a series of community conversations, funded in part by a Humanities Texas grant. It expanded in an effort to help address a decline in interest in the humanities and Spanish language studies, including among Mexican American students, Hunt said.

Through the NEH grant, Forgotten Frontera has emphasized the contributions of the Mexican American population to make them more relevant to students. It has aimed to revitalize humanities education by increasing related course offerings and aligning itself with CSAW's student internship program. And it has continued to offer community outreach programming to encourage family and community support for first-generation Mexican American students, such as Barrera's discussions.

Promoting regional research is a key aim of the University's long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign's new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised nearly $160 million.

About the Center for the Study of the American West

CSAW was formed in fall 2016 with a mission of fostering the study of the American West at West Texas A&M University and building bridges between the university, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum and the regional populace. CSAW seeks to promote the American West both as a culturally unique region and as a product of broad historical forces. For more information about CSAW and upcoming events, please visit wtamu.edu/csaw.

About West Texas A&M University

WT, a Regional Research University, is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 58 undergraduate degree programs, one associate degree, and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor's and master's degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest's finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men's and women's athletics programs.

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