Other
Interview with Heyman.docx
(2018)
Abstract
http://www.sfaa.net/index.php/annual-meeting/distinguished-lectures/michael-kearney-memorial-lecture/2018-josiah-heyman/heyman-interview/
2018 Kearney Lecture Forecast
The Border as Symbol and as Human Reality: An Interview with Josiah (Joe) Heyman
by Sara Wilson, PhD Student at the University of Oklahoma
Dr. Josiah (Joe) Heyman is Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Inter-American and Border Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso. Over the past few months, Dr. Heyman and I have spoken about his thoughts in preparation for the upcoming Kearney lecture, which will be held Thursday afternoon, April 5 at the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia. For those looking to understand the controversies surrounding the Mexican border more deeply, his lecture promises to be both thought-provoking and timely; meanwhile, as this interview demonstrates, Dr. Heyman and his own work embody the inspiring legacy of Michael Kearney.
Sara Wilson: What can you tell us about the content of your upcoming Spring 2018 Kearney lecture in Philadelphia, and what are some of the influences—intellectual, geopolitical, news stories—that might be framing your thinking?
Joe Heyman: Well, I’m trying to grapple with the way that the US-Mexico border has been a one-dimensional symbolic focus of debate. There is a xenophobic tendency to see the border as a place that’s a unique site of threat, and—to elaborate on that—I’m very much trying to understand, to grapple with and reply to the appeal that Donald Trump had with getting crowds to shout, “build the wall! build the wall!” So I’m trying to understand what drives that, but am also trying to understand the other side of the debate: the ways in which the border and the relationship with Mexico is opening up people’s imaginations and ideas about emerging trends.
Keywords
- borders,
- migration,
- values
Disciplines
Publication Date
2018
Citation Information
Josiah Heyman. "Interview with Heyman.docx" (2018) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/josiah_heyman/13/