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Author ORCID Identifier

N/A

AccessType

Open Access Dissertation

Document Type

dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Program

Anthropology

Year Degree Awarded

2014

Month Degree Awarded

February

First Advisor

Oriol Pi-Sunyer

Second Advisor

Martin Wobst

Third Advisor

Mari Castaneda

Fourth Advisor

Jean Forward

Subject Categories

Social and Cultural Anthropology

Abstract

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.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/5527684.0

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