JE #9

1) What aspect of the historical borderlands section of the course do you feel you've learned best? What do you really know now about the history of the U.S.-Mexico border that you did not know before you took the course?

The aspect of the historical borderlands section of the course I feel I learned best is the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. I only knew the biased and dominant perspective about the U.S.-Mexico War and border before the course. I was unaware of the blatant lies embedded in the treaty.

2) Which one(s) of Gloria Anzaldúa's theories about the borderlands do you feel you really understand? How does this theory (or these theories) apply to your own life?

One of Gloria Anzaldúa's theories about the borderlands I really understand is the Shadow Beast. This greatly applies to my life because I confronted my Shadow Beast at a young age and woke up my rebel when I came out. And because of this my Shadow Beast has a face of tenderness, not terror.

3) Which theory or theories of Anzaldúa's are you still having difficulty understanding? Please discuss the difficulties you're having?

A theory of Anzaldúa's I am still having difficulty understanding is reaching Mestiza Consciousness. I understand what it looks like on paper, but I have no idea what it looks like when someone, or myself, experiences it.

5) How would you rate your own level of border consciousness at this point in the course? Are you, for example, just coming face to face with your monstrous Shadow Beast? Are you "entering into the Serpent," or do you feel like you're falling into the "Coatlicue State"? How are the films and readings contributing to this experience?

I would rate my border consciousness at an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. I faced my Shadow Beast years ago and shortly after entered the serpent. I am convinced this course put me in Coatlicue State. The readings, but more so the lectures, are causing me to reflect on how I've been oppressed and I have been falling into Coatlicue State ever since.