Patricia G. Markert

This project combines linguistic and archaeological approaches to study migration and place in two nineteenth-century Alsatian towns in Texas. Though both towns emerged from the same historic migration, they have developed into distinctly different places today. This presents an important case study for understanding how migration narratives impact place-making through time. Since place-making is both a material and narrative practice, this project incorporates oral history, narrative analysis, archaeological mapping, and photogrammetry to investigate how each town has incorporated its Alsatian migration into historical narratives, community identity, and the built landscape. By bridging archaeology and linguistic anthropology, this project presents a novel approach to place that can inform studies across the social sciences and humanities.