The Department of Borderlands and Ethnic Studies at New Mexico State University is set to unveil its new research center during Research and Creativity Week at NMSU. The event will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 10 a.m. in the BEST offices on the second floor of Garcia Center.
Dulcinea Lara, head of the BEST department, highlighted the center's focus on empowering marginalized communities through decolonial frameworks. She stated, “The BEST Research Center uses decolonial frameworks as its foundation to prioritize and empower marginalized communities. It will contribute to research and scholarship in the field of social justice and advocate for inclusive and equitable research environments.”
Professor and director of the BEST Research Center, Manal Hamzeh, expressed excitement about the center's role in fostering ethnic studies and place-based learning for all New Mexicans. Hamzeh shared, “We envision it as a hub of creativity, forward-thinking and sustainable practices that foster ethnic studies and place-based learning for all New Mexicans. It is exciting to be part of the beginnings of BEST’s Research Center at a moment when the College of HEST is building a new culture of research propelled by a vision of social transformation.”
The BEST Research Center aims to raise awareness of New Mexico’s multiethnic communities and address issues of racialized oppression and discrimination. Hamzeh emphasized the importance of intentional collaborations with various communities to achieve these goals. He stated, “At the BEST Research Center, we are guided by a critical inquiry paradigm that values ‘colonized’ peoples’ knowledges and embodies relationality, deep trust, radical love and desire for harmony.”
One of the projects undertaken by the BEST Research Center is “Indigenizing Public Art at NMSU,” which aims to represent Indigenous people and their cultures through public art on campus. Diego Medina, an NMSU alumnus and member of the Piro-Manso-Tiwa tribe, designed the first mural in a stairway leading to the BEST offices in Garcia Center.
The showcase event on Feb. 28 will also feature projects like the “Trotando Pasos Ajenos: Social Justice and Inequalities in the Borderlands” traveling exhibit and a new film in the Peoples of New Mexico Film series. The event will conclude with closing remarks from Lara, followed by a reception open to the public.
For more information about the Department of Borderlands and Ethnic Studies at NMSU and Research and Creativity Week, visit their respective websites.