Faculty Research: Dr. Randy Lewis Appears on Good Day Austin

We're always thrilled when American Studies projects hit the big time in the Austin community and beyond, so we're delighted to share some news about the End of Austin digital humanities project launched last week.This morning, Dr. Randy Lewis appeared on local Fox affiliate's Good Day Austin to talk about the project and the changes that confront Austin. Take a look at the full conversation here!

Announcement: Dr. Michael Omi Talk Tonight!

Happy Monday!Today we invite you to a very exciting talk from Dr. Michael Omi (UC Berkeley) entitled, "The Unbearable Whiteness of Being: Situating Asian Americans." The talk will take place this evening from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM in the Avaya Auditorium (ACE 2.302).

Michael Omi is an Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies and Associate Director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Equitable Society at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the Associate Director of the University of California Center for New Racial Studies, a multi-campus research program. He is the co-author of Racial Formation in the United States.This talk is hosted by the Center for Asian American Studies. Full details here.

Alumni Voices: Niko Tonks on Craft Brewing and Bricolage

Now that the spring semester is well underway, we thought we'd offer up some more words of wisdom from one of our alumni. This week, we feature recent grad Niko Tonks, who shares about his experiences with craft brewing and oral history.

How is the work that you're doing right now informed by the work that you did as a student in American Studies at UT?At present, I have two jobs: I am a brewer at Live Oak Brewing Company here in Austin, and I am also an oral historian for Foodways Texas, slowly working my way towards completing a Texas craft brewing oral history project. It's easier to see how my second job is informed by my work in AMS at UT - the second half of my (admittedly short) graduate career was dedicated to work with food studies, oral history, and craft beer, so it was a natural. I have been lucky to be associated with fantastic organizations such as the Southern Foodways Alliance and Foodways Texas, and both the professional training and real-world experience I have gained from those connections has been and remains invaluable.The first job, however, is a bit more complicated. My day-to-day existence consists of manipulating large quantities of grain and water, in the hopes of turning them into beer. This doesn't necessarily seem easy to connect to a graduate degree in the humanities, but things are more interconnected than they seem. Beer is a social beverage with a rich cultural history, and I am fortunate enough to be employed at a brewery that exists both in the "new world" of American craft brewing and the "old world" of European tradition. As such, I am involved in both archival work, re-creating traditional styles that are of a particular time and place, and bricolage (see, still got some grad school words in me!), mixing old and new in (hopefully) productive and tasty ways. Being an AMS student taught me that it is important to be mindful of and knowledgeable about history and tradition, and that it is often the combination of new and old, whether it be in terms of applying a new theoretical lens, thinking of a new way to interpret a well-known history, or simply applying academic rigor to previously unexplored cultural phenomena, that is the most productive mode of scholarship. It might seem like a stretch, but it is a framework that remains central to my life as a brewer.Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for students in our department about how to get the most out of their time here?My biggest piece of advice would be to pursue opportunities more aggressively than maybe you think you should. I came into grad school eager to keep my head down and learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible, and then maybe later figure out what I wanted. This is not to say that students should come in laser-focused on one area of study, but rather that they should cast a wide net in terms of classes and readings, and always be looking for the little bits and pieces of books, articles, or seminars that speak to them, and try to tie them to their interests. You might be surprised at what suddenly seems like a viable and important thing to devote the next two - or five - years to.

Announcement: 'The End of Austin,' Digital Humanities Project, Now Live

Back in October 2012, we posted a call for contributors to The End of Austin, a digital humanities project spearheaded by American Studies faculty member Dr. Randy Lewis and a small group of graduate students. We're pleased to share the news today that the site has officially launched with sixteen fascinating submissions from movers and shakers in the Austin community.At once a testament to the city's seductive appeal and its anxious growth, The End of Austin addresses our perpetual concern with Austin's past and present. Says Lewis, "Austinites are always afraid of losing what we love about the city: the vibe of a particular neighborhood, the murmur of the so-called creative class, the beauty and health of Barton Springs. The end of Austin, or at least some beloved facet of it, always seems around the corner." The stories about these endings told at The End of Austin take the form of a variety of media: music, photography, fiction, nonfiction, sound, animation, and everything in between.Carrie Andersen, a doctoral student in the department and member of the editorial board, notes, "Compared to other places I've lived in within the past ten years, Austin is remarkably and self-consciously lovely, weird, and anxious about its morphing identity, so I've been thrilled to learn more about the city through the work of residents past and present. And it's so exciting that so many rich and evocative stories have found their home at The End of Austin, particularly since a central goal was to provide an open and accessible space for different forms of creative expression."This multi-faceted collage of Austin life has also provided a space for experimenting in creative work beyond the scope of traditional academic scholarship. Sean Cashbaugh, a doctoral student in the American Studies department and member of the editorial board, notes, "For me, The End of Austin was an opportunity to do some important creative and intellectual work in a space outside traditional academic venues, ones that are becoming increasingly important.  In this project, we've been able to bring ideas and people together that otherwise might never have come into contact with one another. I think that will let us talk about things like urban identity, politics and creativity, and of course Austin's end, in a new way, one that avoids the cliche nostalgia conversations like these often evoke and depend upon. Publishing online is a key part of this:  as a digital humanities project, we can reach a large audience, meaning the discussion we're having here can spread throughout Austin and beyond the city itself, incorporating other voices and hopefully jump-starting new conversations and projects."Take a look at these stories and voices at endofaustin.com, and feel free to share your own stories in the comments there, too.