Course Schedule and Catalog

Department: Anthropology

Meeting: 1:00PM - 2:15PM TR (24-AUG-2026 - 4-DEC-2026) 

Part of Term: Full Term

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Method of Instruction: Face to Face

Credit Hours: 3

 

Section Max Enrollment: 18

Section Enrolled: 6

Enrollment data as of: 26-APR-2026 9:08AM

 

 

Final Exam: No Final Exam

 

Description: What is Texas and who are Texans? Texas is the USA’s second largest state by both population and territory; a third of the nation’s largest 15 cities are located in Texas and it is geographically the nexus of the American South, American Southwest, American Great Plains, Gulf of Mexico, and Mexico. This course explores Texas as a crossroads of a variety of social histories to consider anthropological questions of place-making, livelihood, and belonging. Each week will use anthropological theoretical frameworks and concepts to consider how Texas is experienced and imagined by different populations while unpacking social histories of some iconic Texan cultural figures, tropes, and events. The class sources focus on how various Texans have mobilized to transform their social conditions while regenerating meaningful relations to the historical past, and how Texas social movements have had political effects well beyond its borders. Drawing on sources ranging from historical texts and ethnographies to popular culture and media, we will examine narratives, representations, and imaginations both about Texas and by the vast range of people who have called Texas home. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ANTH 336 if student has credit for ANTH 536.