Sol Garcia | THE RIDER
Students who are interested in the Lower Rio Grande Valleyโs history can learn more about it through the Regional History Series, which consists of articles and is virtually available through the University Libraryโs website.
The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College started the series in the 1980s, which originally focused only on the Brownsville area, said Thomas Knight, an editor for the series and chair of the UTRGV History Department.
The founding editors were Milo Kearney, Anthony Knopp and Antonio Zavaleta, who were all professors at UTB-TSC and are now affiliates of UTRGV. They decided to gradually expand to all of the Valley and Northern Mexico, including Reynosa, said Knight, who is also a history associate professor.
โThey expanded to include the whole Valley and both sides of the borders,โ he said.ย
After the merger of legacy institutions University of Texas at Brownsville and the University of Texas-Pan American, the series became sponsored by UTRGV and TSC, Knight said.ย
โAfter the merger, of course, it became UTRGV-TSC sponsored, so [the editors] all have an affiliation with the university,โ he said.ย
That was when the editors decided to expand to the entire Valley, said Knopp, who is also an emeritus history professor at UTRGV.
โUTRGV reaches a wider geographic area than the University of Texas at Brownsville did, so weโre reaching, or trying to reach, for a wider audience more reflective of the โฆ area that UTRGV serves,โ he said.ย ย
Although the series started before UTRGV, it satisfies UTRGVโs mission, Knight said.ย
โWe publish articles in English and in Spanish, as well as articles that are a mixture,โ he said. โSometimes, we have articles that are published in English, but they quote primary sources in Spanish or vice versa. โฆ This is a bicultural, biliterate, bilingual emphasis of the university.โ
The series is interdisciplinary and includes articles on government, education, literature, folklore and more, Knight said.ย
โIt also publishes from time to time poetry and artwork, as well, by local artists and poets, so itโs really a mixture of different disciplines,โ he said.ย
About three years ago, Knight worked with UTRGV Library staff to digitize the series. Currently, the 17 volumes in the series are available in PDF format, which is a good resource during the COVID-19 pandemic, the history professor said.
โYou can access and do research and read without ever leaving your house, so itโs a good source, especially with the current situation that weโre dealing with,โ he said.ย
The series can help students understand more about the Valleyโs past and its relation to national and international history.ย
โIt really helps to expand knowledge of the local history and how that relates to these larger national and international stories,โ Knight said.
Additionally, learning about the regionโs history can help understand prevalent issues, Knopp said.ย
โFrom learning the history of the region, you can understand better the issues and problems and challenges that exist today,โ he said.ย
The editors are currently finishing a volume, Knight said.ย
โWeโre finishing one volume now, which hopefully will be out in 2021,โ Knight said. โProbably in late 2021 or early 2022 will be the next call for contributions.โ
Contributors have included university professors from across the U.S. and other scholars from other countries, according to Knight.
โWe have things from people who research and write about a wide variety of topics,โ he said.ย
As a founding editor, Knopp said he is proud the Regional History Series has been ongoing for many years.
โWeโve managed to put out so many [volumes] over the years,โ he said. โWeโve been able to keep it going, and we have thus preserved, through these articles, a lot of the history of this region.โย
Arvin Treviรฑo, an English senior, said this series is important because the Valley is an interesting region.ย ย
โThe Rio Grande Valley is a very interesting region from other places in the United States,โ Treviรฑo said. โThe history is mixed, possibly pure.โย
He is interested in reading articles from the series and encourages other students to do so, too.
โItโs possibly true that history has been written and rewritten throughout time, and in order to have a true objective view of both sides, itโs best that people should read up,โ Treviรฑo said.
To view the series, visit scholarworks.utrgv.edu/regionalhist.
