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.