Beyond Texas Through Time

In 1991 Walter L. Buenger and the late Robert A. Calvert compiled a pioneering work in Texas historiography: Texas Through Time, a seminal survey and critique of the field of Texas history from its inception through the end of the 1980s. Now, Buenger and Arnoldo De León have assembled an important new collection that assesses the current state of Texas historiography, building on the many changes in understanding and interpretation that have developed in the nearly twenty years since the publication of the original volume. This new work, Beyond Texas Through Time, departs from the earlier volume's emphasis on the dichotomy between traditionalism and revisionism as they applied to various eras. Instead, the studies in this book consider the topical and thematic understandings of Texas historiography embraced by a new generation of Texas historians as they reflect analytically on the work of the past two decades. The resulting approaches thus offer the potential of informing the study of themes and topics other than those specifically introduced in this volume, extending its usefulness well beyond a review of the literature. In addition, the volume editors' introduction proposes the application of cultural constructionism as an important third perspective on the thematic and topical analyses provided by the other contributors. Beyond Texas Through Time offers both a vantage point and a benchmark, serving as an important reference for scholars and advanced students of history and historiography, even beyond the borders of Texas.

In 1991 Walter L. Buenger and the late Robert A. Calvert compiled a pioneering work in Texas historiography: Texas Through Time, a seminal survey and critique of the field of Texas history from its inception through the end of the 1980s. Now, Buenger and Arnoldo De León have assembled an important new collection that assesses the current state of Texas historiography, building on the many changes in understanding and interpretation that have developed in the nearly twenty years since the publication of the original volume. This new work, Beyond Texas Through Time, departs from the earlier volume’s emphasis on the dichotomy between traditionalism and revisionism as they applied to various eras. Instead, the studies in this book consider the topical and thematic understandings of Texas historiography embraced by a new generation of Texas historians as they reflect analytically on the work of the past two decades. The resulting approaches thus offer the potential of informing the study of themes and topics other than those specifically introduced in this volume, extending its usefulness well beyond a review of the literature. In addition, the volume editors’ introduction proposes the application of cultural constructionism as an important third perspective on the thematic and topical analyses provided by the other contributors. Beyond Texas Through Time offers both a vantage point and a benchmark, serving as an important reference for scholars and advanced students of history and historiography, even beyond the borders of Texas.

Though Lyndon Johnson developed a reputation as a rough-hewn, arm-twisting deal-maker with a drawl, at a crucial moment in history he delivered an address to Congress that moved Martin Luther King Jr. to tears and earned praise from the media as the best presidential speech in American history. Even today, his voting rights address of 1965 ranks high not only in political significance, but also as an example of leadership through oratory.

Historical interpretations shape a culture's understanding of itself, its challenges, its options. New conditions within society, along with new information and methods available to historians, should call forth new interpretations of the past. Thus history changes as time passes. Yet Texas historians have had trouble discarding old understandings. The contributors to this volume of Texas historiography explore this key question: Why have historians not subjected the myths of the state to rigorous, ongoing examination? Why does the macho myth of Anglo Texas still reign? This book is the first scholarly attempt to place the intellectual development of Texas history within the framework of current trends in the study of U.S. history. Twelve eminent scholars have contributed evaluations of the historical literature in their respective fields of expertise--from Texas-Mexican culture and African-American roles to agrarianism, progressivism, and the New Deal; from perspectives on women to the urban experience of Sunbelt boom and near-bust. The cumulative effort describes and analyzes what Texas history is and how it got that way. These stimulating critiques challenge the field to produce a new synthesis that moves away from the provincialism that has so often limited the intellectual directions of the state's historians and the actions of its political leaders.

Scholars contributing to this volume consider topics ranging from the effects of the Mexican Revolution on Tejano and African American communities to its impact on Texas' economy and agriculture. Other essays consider the ways that Mexican Americans north of the border affected the course of the revolution itself. .

Texan Identities rests on the assumption that Texas has distinctive identities that define “what it means to be Texan,” and that these identities flow from myth and memory. Each contributor to this volume provides in some fashion an answer to the following questions: What does it mean to be Texan? What constitutes a Texas identity and how may such change over time? What myths, memories, and fallacies contribute to making a Texas identity, and how have these changed for Texas? Are all the myths and memories that define Texas identity true or are some of them fallacious? Is there more than one Texas identity? Many Texans do believe the story of their state’s development manifesting singular, unique attributes, which are prone to expression as stereotypical, iconic representations of what it means to be Texan. Each of the essays in this volume addresses particular events, places, and people in Texas history and how they are related to Texas identity, myth, and memory. The discussion begins with the idealized narrative and icons revolving around the Texas Revolution, most especially the Alamo. The Texas Rangers in myth and memory are also explored. Other essays expand on traditional and increasingly outdated interpretations of the Anglo-American myth of Texas by considering little known roles played by women, racial minorities, and specific stereotypes such as the cattleman.