Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Palm Trees Y Nopales: The Commodification And Hybridization Of The South Texas Borderlands, Andriana M. Foiles Sifuentes

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines social inequalities rooted in capital. Through research conducted in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, this project interrogates how social characters use capital to access goods and services. By investigating seasonal migration of US and Canadian retirees into the region, the work highlights the social construction of retirement, the use of state and local governances to establish white only enclaves, and the nation-state’s role in creating marginalized populations in the Texas-Mexico borderlands. Ethnography is the primary research method with demographic and popular culture analysis as secondary modes of collecting data.