In London in 1597, a book of Sir Francis Bacon was published entitled The Essays. The book, 340 pages long was received well in England and later translated into French and Italian during his lifetime.

Introduction

Millions of readers love fantastical literature. Like those fans, I enjoy imagining supernatural beings who wield their powers to destroy or save the day.  Dragons, especially, fascinate me.

This semester, Mellon Undergraduate Research Fellows Siera Tanabe from The University of Texas at El Paso and Jonathan Hinojos and Solomon Contreras from El Paso Community College and I are initiating a new podcast series made possible by The Humanities Collaborative at EPCC-UTEP, La Frontera Speaks, which will focus on sharing contemporary and historic personal accounts of our border.

Come inside El Paso Community College’s Rio Grande campus on a Wednesday afternoon, and you’ll find students and faculty alike learning something new in room A125. Inside this room is Papagayo, a name inherited from its founder, Ysella Fulton Slavin. 

The Humanities Collaborative at EPCC-UTEP website defines the humanities as a diverse collection of fields of studies that describes our culture, society, and beliefs. Some of these fields of study include, but are not limited to, literature, history, philosophy, language and linguistics, and art and music history. The field of public history fits nicely into this humanities discussion.