Week 05 - The Borderlands Exploring "Borderlands" In her work, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, author Gloria Anzaldua introduces the concepts of living in the "borderlands,” the actual and literal borders that exist between people of different cultures. The concepts are often referred to in discussions of Chicana and Chicano culture, specifically, but they also apply to the aspects of the Latino and Latina culture in general. The readings for this week further discuss the concept of borderlands and the mestiza culture. Anzaldua wrote about her own cultural identity, but it naturally brings us to confront our own. What is our heritage? What are our competencies? Where do you fit in? Do you speak more than one language? If so, do you use both languages regularly? Does it tear you apart sometimes? Do you go back and forth between different cultural contexts? Can you relate to living in a "borderland" of the sort Gloria Anzaldua describes? What is it like for you to bridge languages and cultures? If you find yourself answering "no" to these questions, think about times when you have encountered people who do live in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural environment - immigrant populations you work with, for instance. Have you made room to acknowledge and appreciate this aspect of their every-day realities? Do you think you should? Why and how? Why not? As you examine the readings for this week, contemplate how each selection falls within the concept of cultural “borderlands.”  Continue to read ¡Yo!, and reflect on the position of Latinas in a cultural and geographic "mix." It should help you as you think about the novel and plan the type of argument(s) you will be making in your analytic research paper.