Intersecting Crises and the Value of the Humanities at the U.S.-Mexico Border: A Conversation with CHCI

In the summer of 2019, Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry agreed to host the Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI), to be held in May 2020 on the UArizona campus. Building from the meeting theme, “Borders, Mobilities, and Displacements,” plans rapidly began to take shape for an engaging five days of plenary sessions, critical discussion, poetry reading, Sonoran food, and a trip across the US-Mexico border. In March, the global emergence of COVID-19 brought an abrupt halt to these plans.

In late May, when we had originally envisioned being together in Tucson, Confluencenter Director and staff members met virtually with Jason Rozumalski of CHCI to discuss how the center’s activities have pivoted in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The resulting conversation evolved to not only include current challenges and adaptive strategies, but also personal experiences, community traditions, and a strengthened commitment to uplift those impacted by borders, historical oppression, and limited resources.

Read the full conversation on CHCI’s website.

While some activities of the 2020 CHCI Annual Meeting proceeded in an online space, Confluencenter and CHCI are currently in discussion around further collaborative virtual activities in the coming academic year.