AMS Student Spotlight—Shara Henderson
Name: Shara Henderson
Pronouns: They/she
Contact information: hendersonshara@utexas.edu
Question (Q): What are your research interests, both academic and for fun, while in American Studies at UT!?
Answer (A): If my academic and non-academic interests were put into a Venn diagram, it would probably look like a circle that’s constantly expanding and consolidating. My core interests in abolition, Indigeneity, neurodiversity, and the city of Austin have guided me through countless research inquiries, ranging from K-12 curriculum censorship to the history of substance use and anti-drug rhetoric. I’m also into astrology, which isn’t something I’ve had the opportunity to encounter yet within academia…but I’m getting there.
Q: How did you make your way to American Studies as a discipline?
A: I had very little exposure to American Studies as a field prior to coming to UT, but once I read up on it, it felt very familiar. My interests as an undergraduate were primarily in sexual violence, settler colonialism, and disability justice, which I was hoping I could continue learning about after two years of not using my degree. After looking through several programs, I was most intrigued by this particular department because of its expansive, interdisciplinary approach as well as the innovative work that has come out of it.
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: As someone who’s had their fair share of struggles with academia, I try to take off my “scholar” hat whenever I can and approach my interests simply as a person–as a born-and-raised Austinite when I’m looking at gentrification, as a neurodivergent individual when I’m imagining new means of accessibility, etc.–and I look at all of these things put together to show a bigger picture of who I am, where I’ve come from, and where I’m going. I want for my work to not just be a reflection of myself but also of my friends, family, and community, most of whom live outside the ivory tower. As I’m in my first year of coursework, I haven’t had the opportunity to develop a particular set of methods, but I know that in the future I’d like to find imaginative, emotional means of bringing unheard stories to light.
Q: Are you currently working on any projects, and if so tell us about them!
A: Nothing is set in stone since I’m primarily focused on my classes and TA duties, but I am potentially going to be working with Austin Justice Coalition as well as some other UT students to increase civilian oversight over the procurement of APD’s surveillance technology and provide education on the harm they produce. I’m also regularly coming up with project ideas I don’t have the time to work on, the most recent being a m(app)ing project that highlights all the spaces in between the man-made landmarks that Google maps documents. There could be filters to look at the flora and fauna of Austin, track the movement of different groups of people over time, allow users to submit location-specific stories to create a library of affective geographies of the city, etc. This is definitely ambitious and probably won’t end up actually happening, but if you know about app design and/or mapping and need a project idea, let me know.
Q: How does American Studies at UT make your work possible?
A: After being here for a little over a semester, I’ve been fortunate to encounter several brilliant minds that have taught me about topics I wasn’t even aware I didn’t know about. American Studies stretches your mind in all directions, which is both scary and exhausting, but also incredibly rewarding. My cohort, fellow students, professors, and staff have of course provided me with academic support and laughter to get me through these challenges.
Q: What is your favorite thing about AMS at UT?
A: Although the “What is American Studies?” question from outsiders got old quickly, I do think it’s pretty cool to be in a sort of mysterious field where people think they know what it is but they ask you just to be sure only for you to tell them you also don’t quite know. It’s very queer to me. American Studies is whatever you want it to be, and I feel like that’s how academia should be–unburdened by the need to fit within one disciplinary structure.
Bonus Q: What is a fun fact about you that you would like your colleagues, peers, and/or students to know about you?
A: For all of my childhood/teenage years I was 100% sure I would be some kind of scientist when I grew up. I was really into astronomy for a while, then switched over to wanting to be in the medical field. My change in direction towards what I’m doing now was mostly thanks to one great professor and one toxic professor in my first year as an undergrad.
