Highsmith, Carol M. Mission San Carlos Borroméo del río Carmelo, Carmel, California. 2012. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2013632109/.
Students examine the photograph, noting the mission’s iconic domed bell tower—the only original one remaining—and its Mediterranean-style architecture. In small groups, they discuss how the design conveys religious authority and civic presence. Next, students read Leslie Marmon Silko’s short story “Lullaby,” which portrays a Native American woman’s healing journey connected to the land. Students write a comparative reflection linking the mission’s physical legacy of colonial education with Silko’s narrative of cultural resilience and language as healing.
Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo was founded on June 3, 1770, by Father Junípero Serra and became the headquarters of Alta California’s Franciscan missions. Located in Carmel, it served as an educational and religious center with one of California’s earliest libraries, symbolizing the intersection of imperial authority, faith, and schooling for Indigenous communities.
Source: https://californiamissionsfoundation.org/mission-san-carlos-borromeo/
Overarching Question
- How does the preserved architecture of Mission San Carlos Borromeo convey both religious authority and cultural impact, and what stories does it tell—or leave untold—about its history?
Supporting Questions
- Which architectural elements in the photograph most strongly communicate the mission’s spiritual or institutional power?
- How does the mission’s design and setting reflect its role in education and colonial expansion?
- What emotional and cultural losses in Silko’s “Lullaby” parallel the histories connected to the mission?
- How can visual and literary sources work together to challenge or complicate dominant historical narratives?
Extension Question
- Choose a local landmark that represents authority, tradition, or community memory. How might you reinterpret it through a visual or written narrative to highlight the perspectives or histories that are often overlooked?
ELA Standard
RI.11–12.7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
Social Studies Standard
HSS Standard 11.1.3. Understand the roles of religion and ideology in the founding of the nation and in shaping its institutions and values.
NCTE Standard 2
Students read a wide range of literature from many periods and genres to build understanding of the many dimensions of human experience.
- Students begin with a close visual analysis of the photograph of Mission San Carlos Borromeo, focusing on architectural features such as the domed bell tower, arched entryways, and adobe construction. The teacher guides students to consider: How does this preserved architecture convey spiritual or institutional control? What stories are being told—or omitted—through its design and upkeep?
- Historical context is provided, emphasizing the mission’s role as the headquarters of the Franciscan mission system and its dual function as a religious and educational center. Students discuss: How do places like Mission San Carlos reflect the intertwined power of faith and schooling in shaping cultural narratives?
- Next, students read Leslie Marmon Silko’s short story “Lullaby,” annotating for natural imagery, tone, and intergenerational themes. In discussion, they connect the emotional and cultural loss portrayed in the story with the mission’s symbolic architecture. They examine how language, story, and memory serve as acts of cultural resistance and healing, contrasting with the mission’s visual assertion of authority.
- Students then compose a comparative response—either as an analytical essay or a creative visual-narrative pairing—that links the themes of “Lullaby” to the mission’s structure. This may focus on how spiritual institutions contributed to erasure or how modern acts of remembrance reclaim these spaces.
- For the creative extension, students photograph a local landmark and write an original narrative or poem that reimagines the site’s story, reclaiming or reframing its cultural significance.
Highsmith, Carol M. Old Mission San Juan Bautista in San Juan Bautista, a city in San Benito County, California. 2013. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2013634732/.
Highsmith, Carol M. La Purísima Mission, Lompoc, California. 2012. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2013632530/.