Name: Henrik Jaron Schneider

Pronouns: he/him

Contact Information: henrik_schneider@utexas.edu

Question (Q): What are your research interests, both academic and for fun, while in American Studies at UT!?

 Answer (A): Dinosaurs and the environment. Like most boys, I was indoctrinated by Jurassic Park to be obsessed with prehistoric reptiles. In addition, I was a boy scout for over a decade, which helped me to develop a deep appreciation for nature and taught me that birch wood is highly flammable even when wet (I don’t know what to do with that information but it’s in my brain and now it’s in yours, too. You’re welcome). At UT Austin, I combine my fascination with natural and built environments with my interest in prehistory to explore the intersection of paleontology, extractivism, and dinosaurs as cultural icons. I’m also a hobby meteorologist. So, besides wasting my time gazing at clouds and checking numerical weather prediction models four times a day (without any theoretical knowledge on the matter—but they’re colorful, which I like 🌈), I hope I will be able to integrate my obsession with the atmosphere into my research on the cultural histories of our planet’s geosphere.  

Q: How did you make your way to American Studies as a discipline?

 A: I started college as an environmental science major with a minor in climatology at the University of Freiburg. During a lecture on edaphology and pedology, I decided to change my major and university and applied to a film and communications program at the University of Mainz. I don’t have an explanation for this radical shift other than the fact that I was an erratic 19-year-old Gemini. After two more years, I decided to switch from film to American studies. What attracted me to the field were the creative methods and approaches to transnational cultural histories. Therefore, it’s not so much a question of how I found my path to American studies as a discipline as it is a convoluted journey to making my way to American studies as a method/habit of mind.

Q: What is the nature of your work? What method(s) do you utilize the most? How does your current work align within American Studies at UT?

 A: In the past, I’ve mostly utilized critical media analysis, queer theory, and cultural discourse analysis. For my bachelor’s degree, I wrote a thesis on racial stereotypes in Disney movies. My master’s thesis was an analysis of the intersection of technology, gender, and sexuality in the Jurassic franchise through a queer theory lens. While I’m still interested in pop culture and representations of prehistory, my methodological approach has shifted as a Ph.D. student in the American studies department at UT. In addition to the methods, I utilized as an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Mainz, several classes I took at UT pointed me toward the material histories of dispossession and how they intersect with the dinosaur as a cultural icon. Thus, my time at UT made me aware of the cultural work of the dinosaur and the ways in which ideas about prehistory are intertwined with racial capitalism, land use politics, and environmental history.

Q: Are you currently working on any projects, and if so tell us about them!

 A: I just finished my orals exam, so my main project at the moment is to feel like a real human again. Other than that, I’m working on my prospectus and a paper I will present in March at the conference of the American Society of Environmental History in Boston.

Q: How does American Studies at UT make your work possible?

 A: The diverse interests and backgrounds of our faculty profoundly informed my understanding of methodology in the context of my research. In addition, UT provided me with opportunities to further develop as a scholar, such as writing reviews for E3W and supporting the department as a member of the graduate student conference committee.

Q: What is your favorite thing about AMS at UT.

My cohort. Starting a Ph.D. program as an international student from Germany during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was highly anxiety-inducing. Amanda and Stephanie have always supported me with their compassion, friendship, and advice <3.

Bonus Question: What is a fun fact about you that you would like your colleagues, peers, and/or students to know about you?

 A: I was on German reality TV. Good luck finding the evidence.