Morgan, MollyHwang, Elaine2025-03-312025-03-312022https://hdl.handle.net/1911/118292This item is an honors thesis about a button collection from the Varner-Hogg Plantation in Brazoria County. This work was written by Elaine Hwang, whose research was under the direction of Dr. Molly Morgan.This archaeological work investigates the button collection from Varner-Hogg Plantation in Brazoria County, Texas to interpret the sartorial practices of the enslaved individuals that once labored on the land. This project analyzes a total of 99 buttons which were excavated at Varner-Hogg plantation as a means to interpret the clothing that the buttons might have adorned and the subsequent practices of daily self-making. The research utilizes the theoretical framework regarding identity and its construction through performance and inscription to investigate how enslaved individuals were shaped within spheres of labor, desires for upward social mobility, and threats of racialized violence. I use the archaeological evidence from the buttons to investigate how and why enslaved individuals at Varner-Hogg performed particular dress practices during the 19th century as they strived to create spaces within the most oppressive of contexts in which they desired to distinguish themselves. This project is part of a wider push for community engagement in plantation archaeology and the telling of stories of the enslaved individuals who once lived and labored on the land.104 ppengThis work is protected by copyright and is made available here for research and educational purposes. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.ArchaeologyCommunity ResearchBrazoria CountyPlantationThesisHwangE_Honors_Thesis_2022