A 3-MONTH PROJECT IN COLLABORATION WITH DR. LARRISA WERHNYAK AND HER AMERICAN STUDIES CLASS AT UT DALLAS

The class collaborated on a project with Bredt Bredthauer, an educator who is walking a portion of the border this spring. Students conducted interviews with Bredthauer during his travels. Bredthauer also sent the class a variety of items to examine: candles with depictions of religious figures, toiletries believed to have been discarded after people crossed the border, and a set of Texas sesquicentennial placemats from 1986. Another item Bredthauer sent the class was a large, weathered black inner tube that had been used to cross the Rio Grande River. It sparked the most discussion. Students said the thick rubber tube made them think about the difficult journey of the person or people who had used it.

Students Dive Into Texas — Its Past and Present