Lecture Series
Dr. Adam Kozaczka and Dr. Zachary Hernandez from TAMIU’s College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Humanities present Border Voices, an engaging speaker series funded by Humanities Texas and supported by TAMIU and our community partners, the Laredo Public Library and the Webb County Heritage Foundation.
Spring 2025 Lecture Series Distinguished Presenters
Elizabeth González James
"A Reading and Conversation with Award-Winning Author Elizabeth González-James"
Date: Thursday, February 6, 2025, 6:30 p.m.
Location: Villa Antigua Border Museum (Downtown), 810 Zaragoza Street
Elizabeth González James is the author of the novels Mona at Sea and The Bullet Swallower. Her stories and essays have appeared in The Idaho Review, Southern Humanities Review, The Rumpus, StorySouth, PANK, and elsewhere, and have received numerous Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. Originally from South Texas, Elizabeth now lives with her family in Massachusetts.
The Border Voices Lecture Series will continue in the Spring of 2025 with the following speakers:
- A Film Screening and Conversation with Paloma Martínez ( March 20, 2025). Paloma Martínez began her storytelling career as a labor organizer in her native Houston, TX. With her films, she hopes to empower communities and spark dialogue. In 2018, Paloma was named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker. She graduated from Stanford University's Documentary Film MFA program and is Assistant Professor of Radio, Television, and Film at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL.
- Border Girls: Reading Laredo with J Buentello Benavides ( April 17, 2025). J Buentello Benavides is a local writer, teacher, editor, and translator. Her prose and translations have appeared in The Florida Review, Denver Quarterly, Los Angeles Review, and elsewhere. She is a Hedgebrook writer-in-residence alumna. Among her other awards, her writing has been named finalist for the Newfound Prose Prize, finalist for The Florida Review’s Editors’ Prize, and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Join us at the McKendrick Ochoa Salinas Branch Library on Thursday, April 17, 2024, at 6 p.m. for a compelling reading by J Buentello Benavides, whose work tackles crucial border issues and explores the realities of growing up on the border. This event offers a powerful opportunity to hear firsthand about the challenges and stories that shape our shared realities in Laredo. Engage with Buentello Benavides as she brings her words to life.
Fall 2024 Lecture Series Distinguished Presenters
Rick Jervis
"Capturing the Border Patrol Serial Killer"
Date: Thursday, October 17, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
Location: TAMIU CFPA Recital Hall
An enlightening panel, “Capturing the Border Patrol Serial Killer,” will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Rick Jervis on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Center for the Performing Arts Recital Hall. Jervis, a journalist with USA Today , will speak about his book, The Devil Behind the Badge, an exposition of the U.S. Border Patrol agent turned serial killer who murdered four sex workers in Laredo in 2018. Jervis' book skillfully raises serious questions about the border crisis, the story behind events that shook the Laredo community in 2018 and honors the victims of serious crimes while asking questions about the killer’s motive. He has over two decades of experience working at the Miami Herald, the Wall Street Journal Europe, the Chicago Tribune, and USA TODAY, where he has worked since 2005. He lives in Austin. The Devil Behind the Badge is his first book.
Photo Credit by Joel Salcido
Dr. Norma E. Cantú
“From the Self to the World: A Generative Writing Workshop”
Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2024, 6 p.m.
Location: Joe A. Guerra Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Road
On Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., acclaimed author and scholar Dr. Norma E. Cantú will present her workshop, “From the Self to the World: A Generative Writing Workshop” at the Joe A. Guerra Laredo Public Library, on 1120 E. Calton Road. Dr. Cantú will deliver a writing workshop where participants will be invited to construct their border art through the written word, exploring themes of self and community. As it is writing-intensive, the capacity for this event is limited to 30 people. Cantú currently serves as the Norine R. and T. Frank Murchison Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Trinity University in San Antonio. Earning a Ph.D. in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she has had an illustrious career serving in various capacities at higher education institutions in Texas, California, and Washington, D.C. She recently served as President of the American Folklore Society and currently serves on several boards including the board of directors of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, CantoMundo, and Macondo.
This event is made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the State affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information, contact Dr. Adam Kozaczka at 956.326.3300 or adam.kozaczka@tamiu.edu
*Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this lecture series do not necessarily represent those of Humanities Texas or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
