Querencias, Contested Homelands, and Sites as Storied Texts: Exploring the Place Orientations of New Mexico in a Teacher Workshop^*

This chapter describes a teacher education initiative for in-service teachers from around the United States focused on engagement with historical sites in New Mexico. The initiative invited professional educators to reconceptualize and “re-read” the history of the United States by studying the history of culture of Santa Fe and surrounding communities. This chapter will include an overview of place-conscious education. Additionally, it will advance three place orientations that are rooted in New Mexico history and culture: querencia, contested homelands, and sites as layered, storied texts. The chapter will also include an overview of the history of New Mexico that informed the professional development including a description of three historic sites that exemplify New Mexico's place orientations. Finally, the chapter will discuss qualities of the professional development experience itself with key insights gained from the participants around the place orientations identified in the chapter.