Born and raised in the borderlands, Maira E. Álvarez and Sylvia A. Fernández launched Borderlands Archives Cartography (BAC) in 2017. A digital map that shows the cartography of newspapers along the U.S.-Mexico border and documents the geographic locations of magazines from the nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries is part of the BAC project. It is a personal project without any financial backing or funding of any kind.
The idea is based on the strong political language that is currently prevalent and portrays the ideological and geographic border between the United States and Mexico as a threat. As people who grew up along the border, the political discourse does not reflect our viewpoints. We view the borderland as a place where various cultures coexist under powerful political, economic, and social hegemonies. It is also a place where distinct regions keep their individual identities while influencing one another. As members of the borderlands communities, we recognize the value of showcasing local content.
ADDITIONAL
This project is independent of any institutions and was started and funded by its founders.
Sylvia A. Fernández
Founder
Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in Public & Digital Humanities
The University of Texas at San Antonio
sylvia.fernandez@utsa.edu
Maira E. Álvarez
Founder
Ph.D.
Provost’s Early Career Fellow
The University of Texas at Austin
maira.alvarez@austin.utexas.edu
Goals
The Borderlands Archives Cartography (BAC) project has several goals, including:
- Documenting newspaper productionBAC aims to create a transborder archive of newspapers published on the U.S.-Mexico border from 1808 to 1930.
- Understanding the regionBAC aims to help people understand the region and its communities before and after the border became a division line.
- Promoting diverse researchBAC uses digital humanities practices to promote diverse forms of research and community involvement.
- Creating interdisciplinary alliancesBAC aims to create and support interdisciplinary alliances and communities across borders.
Tools
BAC is a digital mapping project that displays the geographic locations of newspapers from the U.S.-Mexico border. The project was founded in 2017 by Maira E. Álvarez and Sylvia Fernández. BAC is a self-funded, non-institutionally supported project.
BAC organizes data by historical period. For example, newspapers from the nineteenth century are included from the entire states, while newspapers from the twentieth century are selected from border cities.