Identity is one of the massive subjects I would like to further study. I’ve done basic research on the notion of identity, and now I find myself questioning the role of identity in just almost every possible context. Most recently (if you follow my sparsely updated blog) I have focused on the identity of UH-D, the school I call home during the week. The proposed name change has brought up certain questions about identity that have been addressed in a rather simple way. The discussion of a name for what is now known as the University of Houston-Downtown should (now that there is ample time to discuss it) include the identity of Houston as a whole when attempting to cement a suitable moniker. Some of what I am talking about has already been addressed in the discussions held through the listserve operated by the UHD administration. For the most part I am not aware of these questions being addressed in a lengthy way, so I will raise them again here.
First I want to revisit what I understand to be an old question in the field of Southern History; is Houston (and Texas for that matter) a member of the South? To my limited, yet reasonably informed knowledge, there has not been a definite answer to this question. The complex nature of the state and its various individual regions make it impossible to assign it to one category.
So for now I’ll part with this question:
Is Houston part of the South, West, or Gulf Coast United States?
