Today@Sam Article
Book Forum To Bring To Campus 'Enrique's' Author, Mother
Nov. 5, 2015
SHSU Media Contact: Dawine Bergeron
Sonia Nazario, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author of this year’s Sam Houston State University Common Reader Program selection, spent 20 years writing and reporting about social issues such as hunger, drug addiction and immigration.
A result of this research has been “Enrique’s Journey, “ which recounts the unforgettable quest of a Honduran boy looking for his mother after she is forced to leave her starving family to find work in the United States, according to the book description.
Nazario and several SHSU faculty members will use the book’s themes to discuss immigration and other subjects during this year’s “Enrique’s Journey” Book Forum.
The four-day series of presentations, held Nov. 16-19, will include a keynote address, a question-and-answer session with Nazario, and discussions on the mental health needs of adolescents, the developmental processes and immigration.
The forum will kick off on Monday with an exhibit in the Lowman Student Center Art Gallery that highlights works created by SHSU students as part of the Common Reader Program art contest.
That evening, an art reception and awards ceremony for the winners of the program’s scholarship contests will be held in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom at 5 p.m. The works will be on display until Nov. 20.
Other art students will get into the “Enrique’s Journey” spirit by presenting “Inflatopia: Art You Can Get Inside Of” Tuesday through Thursday in the LSC Mall Area.
Inflatopia—a project in which students create giant inflatable sculptures—will take participants on a “visual journey” by exploring “style shifts from realistic to abstraction through a variety of layers and collaged materials that connect to the themes present in the book,” said assistant professor of art Valerie Powell.
On Tuesday, students will be able to visit Nazario in the LSC Art Gallery from 1-1:30 p.m. before her keynote address on “The Art of Storytelling,” which will begin at 2 p.m.
Following her discussion, Nazario and Enrique’s mother Lourdes Pineda will answer questions and sign copies of “Enrique’s Journey.”
That evening, Nazario also will discuss immigration, children and justice during the Global Center for Journalism and Democracy and College of Criminal Justice co-sponsored presentation “Unequal Justice,” beginning at 6 p.m. in the LSC Theater. This presentation also will be followed by a question-and-answer session and book signing with both Nazario and Pineda.
Because of many comments made by presidential candidates, who’ve kept immigration in the national spotlight, Nazario has made the rounds to discuss her thoughts on the topic. She recently published a piece in the New York Times; has appeared on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and “On Point,” as well as “Democracy Now;” and was also interviewed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
“It was such a natural fit for GCJD to work with the Common Reader Program for this semester’s speaker series,” said GCJD executive director Kelli Arena. “Sonia Nazario will be talking about an extremely important and very divisive topic. Part of GCJD’s mission is to present various perspectives on important issues and to try to help our students and community separate fact from fiction.“
On Wednesday, SHSU professors and other guests will kick off a series of discussions in the LSC Ballroom on some of the various topics addressed within the novel.
The first, at 11 a.m., will feature attorney Audrey Biggar, who will discuss facts and myths about immigration and naturalization laws.
At 1 p.m., assistant professor of psychology Amanda Venta will present “Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Unaccompanied Immigrant Teens,” which will explore typical mental health needs of adolescents who have recently emigrated to America.
“As educators and students dedicated to lives of service, learning about the mental health needs of this population is a critical steps toward meeting these needs in the future,” Venta said.
In her presentation, Venta will describe factors that may affect adolescent immigrants’ risk for mental illness and discuss how mental health providers, educators, and members of the community can help support a healthy trajectory for adolescent.
“Students who are interested in studying psychology, education, social work, or counseling are encouraged to consider the importance of cultural and contextual factors in their work,” Venta said. “All students are encouraged to come share their ideas for ways in which we, as a university, community and nation, might support the healthy development of adolescents who have recently entered the U.S.”
At 2 p.m., professor of psychology Marsha Harman will examine “psycho-social development through ‘Enrique’s Journey.’”
“Overcoming Overwhelming Obstacles” will compare the “normal developmental process” to one of the character’s developmental processes in the book.
“This is something we may hear about on the news, but we really have no idea how perilous the journey can be,” Harman said. “People have different reactions to the book. Some see Enrique as tortured because he needs his mother, while others see him as a criminal who came to the U.S. illegally.
“Whatever anyone thinks or feels is OK if the person learns something about the subject of which they are studying and learns something about him or herself,” Harman said.
Following Harman’s presentation, the first in a series of films presented by the history department will be screened at 6 p.m. in the Olson Auditorium, located in Academic Building IV. Following the presentation of “Who Is Dayani Cristal?” —which tells the story of an anonymous body, found in the Arizona desert and the mystery that follows—SHSU assistant professor of history Uzma Quraishi will lead a short discussion.
The final presentation will be on Thursday, when associate professor of history Charles Heath will examine “Historical Perspective on Immigration through Mexico,” from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in LSC Room 315.
Heath’s presentation will focus on Albergue de Migrantes, a migrant shelter located in Ixtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico, which provides a historical context for the region of the Isthmus of Tehauntepec and southern Mexico.
“Enrique passed through Ixtepec on his journey, along the railroad trail that so many migrants travel en route to Mexico City,” Heath said. “My wife is from near Ixtepec and I have visited the shelter a couple times, as well as met and talked to migrants there.”
At 6 p.m., the second film about immigration, “Which Way Home,” with faculty host Wesley Phelps, assistant professor of history, will be shown in the Olson Auditorium. “Which Way Home” follows unaccompanied child migrants on their journey through Mexico as they attempt to reach the U.S.
For more information on any of the featured activities, contact First Year Experience director Kay Angrove at fye@shsu.edu or 936.294.3423.
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