Announcement: American Studies Junior Wins TX Relay Decathlon

If you live in Austin, chances are you noticed that the immediate vicinity of the University was a little busier than usual. That's because this weekend, the Mike A. Myers Stadium hosted the annual Texas Relays, an enormous track and field competition bringing athletes to Austin from near and far.We're pleased to announce that Isaac Murphy, a junior in the American Studies department, won the decathlon of the Texas Relays, making him the first Longhorn to win the events since 2006.Want to get a taste of the action? Here's a video from day one, featuring Isaac's stellar performance.The Austin American-Statesman also has a great write-up of his accomplishment - check it out! And congratulations, Isaac!

Faculty and Grad Research: Photos from Texas Restaurants Project

As we mentioned yesterday, one of our graduate seminars was hard at work preparing a presentation at the Foodways Texas Symposium centering on oral histories from iconic Texas restaurant owners and staff members.Today, we're sharing some wonderful photographs of several American Studies graduate students (and others!) hard at work in the field. Enjoy, and stay tuned for more fascinating dispatches from the American Food graduate seminar!

Faculty and Grad Research: Foodways Texas Symposium

This past weekend, graduate students in Elizabeth Engelhardt's "American Food" class took part in the second annual Foodways Texas Symposium here in Austin. At this year's event, Dr. Engelhardt's class presented work from an oral history project they are doing in partnership with Foodways Texas and the Texas Restaurant Association. In small groups, the students visited four "iconic" Texas restaurants to interview their owners, snap photos, and gather ephemera, and they shared these stories and images at a well-attended afternoon panel.Dr. Engelhardt notes that "these restaurants have great stories, represent the diversity of the Texas food and restaurant culture and celebrate the racial and ethnic diversity of our state." Marvin Bendele, Executive Director of Foodways Texas, comments, "We view this oral history project as an opportunity to highlight the diverse food cultures of the Lone Star state by way of its thriving and storied restaurant industry. We expect that through our partnership with the Texas Restaurant Association, we will be able to create an extensive oral history archive that will be utilized by future generations interested in our food and foodways history."Stay tuned tomorrow for more on this exciting oral history project (and some beautiful photos!). In the meantime, check out this great write-up on the symposium by Addie Broyles on the Relish Austin blog over at Austin360.

Faculty Research: Janet Davis lectures at UVA Circus Festival

This week, our very own Dr. Janet M. Davis will be lecturing as part of a circus festival sponsored by the Department of Drama at the University of Virginia. Her topics will include circus history and animal welfare--a combination of work already published and her current book project, The Gospel of Kindness: Animal Welfare and the Making of Modern America (under contract with Oxford University Press). Specifically, Dr. Davis will be talking to theater audiences after three performances of George Brant's play, "Elephant's Graveyard." The veteran clown, Steve Smith, and the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus will also be performing as part of the festival. Audiences at UVA are in for a treat!