SMU Clements Center hosts symposium on history of violence along U.S.-Mexico border

DALLAS (SMU) – SMU’s Clements Center for Southwest Studies, in partnership with the Instituto Mora of Mexico City, will host a public forum on the history of violence along the U.S.-Mexico border at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at the Latino Cultural Center, 2600 Live Oak Street, Dallas.

Bringing together scholars and journalists from Mexico, the United States and Great Britain, the international forum will focus on the long evolution of violence along the U.S.-Mexico border, from the early 1800s through the modern drug wars. The forum will feature a series of panel discussions centered the evolution of violence along the border. Questions and interactions with the audience will be encouraged.

“Because of the modern drug wars, the border today has an enduring reputation as a site of brutal violence,” notes Andrew J. Torget, a professor of history at the University of North Texas and one of the organizers of the event. “But what people tend to forget is that border violence has changed dramatically during the past two centuries, and there is nothing inevitable about today’s situation. This public event will present historical background for the modern situation, as we discuss how border violence has evolved over time.”

Panel discussions will include seasoned Dallas Morning News journalists Alfredo Corchado, author of Midnight in Mexico (Penguin Books, 2013) and Dianne Solís, National Association of Hispanic Journalists’ 2006 Journalist of the Year; and Ioan Grillo, author of El Narco (Bloomsbury, 2012) and Gangster Warlord (Bloomsbury, 2016). Grillo’s work on violence and the border have appeared in the New York Times, Time magazine, and the Houston Chronicle.

Joining them will be noted historians and scholars Alan Knight, Oxford University; Marcela Terrazas, Instituto de Investigaciones Historicas – UNAM; J. Gabriel Martinez-Serna, Universidad Iberoamericana Saltillo; Gerardo Gurza, Instituto Mora of Mexico City; Sonia Hernandez, Texas A&M University; William Carrigan, Rowan University; Clive Webb, University of Sussex; Elaine Carey, St. Johns University; and Miguel Gonzalez Quiroga, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon.  Also participating are Alberto Barrera Enderle, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon; Alice Baumgartner, Yale University; Timothy Bowman, West Texas A&M; Lance Blyth, NORAD - US Northern Command; Jose Carlos Cisneros Guzman, Universidad TecMilenio; Alejandra Diaz, University of Essex; Santiago Ivan Guerra, Colorado College;  Brandon Morgan, Central New Mexico Community College; and Joaquin Rivaya-Martinez, Texas State University.

This event is free and open to the public, though seating is limited so reservations are requested at https://violenceintheborderlands.eventbrite.com. 

For more information: click here.

###

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls approximately 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.

21685-nr-3/14/16-kr