Visualizing Understanding: The Evolution of the US-Mexico Border

Link to Visualization Project

One of the concepts that I have struggled the most with throughout my time doing immigration advocacy work is the very normalized idea of borders. Over the years I have learned that most countries do not have massive border fences like the US does, some countries even have border areas that foster cross-country community building, so I decided to focus my project on the evolution of the US-Mexico border. I decided to use the Timetoast timeline platform for this visualization

project because, of all the timeline platforms I explored, this one was the most user-friendly. Unfortunately, it did not have some of the extra interactive features that other platforms did, like linking videos straight to the timeline, but it is streamlined and loads easily. I chose all of the pictures before putting any text into the timeline based on the chronological order of the events throughout history. After inserting the text, I selected short videos for some of the events and linked them in the text boxes.

During the research phase of this project I realized how difficult it would be to find a history of the border article that comprehensively discussed the pre-colonial aspect and the impact on indigenous sovereignty. I decided to try to represent that aspect of the border’s on-going history in my timeline. These historical events have also had impacts on many people’s lives. Those stories were not always represented in the literature I read, which is why incorporating video footage was helpful in deepening my own understanding and hopefully will be for others as well. During my

research I quickly learned that my timeline would have to be a condensed version of border history because there have been countless pieces of legislation passed affecting fence construction and border security. I also learned how important it is to know this history and to know what the lived impact of border fencing and militarization is. It becomes incredibly easy to advocate for bigger walls and greater militarization when the fence is not in our backyard, as it is for Tahono O’dhame Nation.

            Visualization is a powerful vehicle for learning and I would definitely use it in my future teaching. I will be licensed to teach ESL initially, but eventually plan to obtain my bilingual teaching license as well. Visualization is important for all students, and the possibilities for creativity open up even more when there are multiple languages spoken in the classroom. It is a time consuming process to create something like this from scratch, but there are also many resources out there that make the process a bit easier. I hope that as the years go by in my teaching career, I am able to create learning tools like these and keep them in my tool box to re-use with future classes of students.