Getting Started

About the Trip

This Odyssey was made possible by the Cynthia Cook Sandefur family, who generously support an Odyssey professorship. Faculty at Hendrix College can submit proposals for projects lasting up to three years, which include experiential learning for students. This project examines globalization and transnationalism and the U.S.-Mexico relationship and this is the final activity for the professorship. In the first year, students and I investigated migrants in central Arkansas. Last year, we looked at the border region (see our blog here: http://borderlands2014.blogspot.com/). This year, we are heading to central Mexico, the state of Oaxaca. Each student on this trip took a course with me, Transnational Migration, and wrote a self-selected research paper. The course especially focused on works related to Oaxaca, Oaxacan migrants who work in the United States, and the U.S.-Mexico relationship.

About Me (The Professor)

Before coming to Hendrix College, I lived and worked in the U.S. Southwest for many years. I worked as an archaeologist with the National Park Service before returning to school to pursue my doctorate at Arizona State University. My dissertation topic examined identity and education, and concepts of place, at the U.S.-Mexico border. I worked with school districts in Phoenix, Nogales, and Douglas, Arizona. I also worked with non-profit organizations on issues of mental health and homelessness, National Heritage Areas, and conservation ranching. Since leaving the southwest, I have been working with a colleague, Maxine Payne, to document the lives of rural women around the world. We have worked in Costa Rica, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Arkansas. Four years ago, we took students to Douglas, Arizona and Agua Prieta, Sonora, to interview and photograph women at the border. You can see Maxine's photographs here: http://www.maxinepayne.com. I have traveled to many parts of Mexico, but Oaxaca holds a special place in my heart because of the warmth of the people, the ethnic diversity, the archaeological heritage, and the dramatic beauty of the state.

Arrival

On May 17, we began our trek to Oaxaca from Arkansas. We have a lot planned - visiting archaeological sites, indigenous villages, shopping in markets, and hiking in the cloud forest. We'll even head to the coast! Stay tuned for updates from all of us over the next two and a half weeks!