Document Type
Panel Presentation
Start Date
19-4-2018 9:15 AM
End Date
19-4-2018 10:30 AM
Keywords
survival, subsistence, rationale, participation, motivation, demographics
Biography
As an anthropologist, I study archaeology, cultural/medical anthropology, and how our species has adapted and proliferated through various means and methodologies. Numerous adaptations have sculpted who we are as modern organisms. Survival appears to be an innate sense incorporated into not only our cultural, but physical makeup, and it is this phenomenon which I find most fascinating. Through the archaeological record, we have extrapolated much data on the subject, but much remains to be learned about who we are, and from where we have come. It is these things I question, provoking me to further study our habits and practices.
Major
Anthropology
Advisor for this project
Dr. M. Laubauch
Abstract
As digital technologies are now easily accessible and readily available, most all persons in the United States possess a myriad of high-tech devices such as smart phones, laptops, tablets, or some facsimile thereof. Used every day by practically everyone of all ages, and from all demographics, these devices have become commonplace within every aspect of modern living, in the home, workplace, and available for public use. However, in lieu of this exponentially growing phenomena, many people, both on their own and within groups, have decided to engage in a re-learning of more ancient, non-technical living and subsistence strategies. Hence, it is important to interpret the rationale and motivation behind what prompts an individual, or groups, to engage in the re-learning of certain practices such as hunting and gathering, fishing, horticulture/gardening, agriculture, pastoralism, re-enactments, textile production, canning/preserving, and up to and including 4-H participation. While there are numerous books, videos, groups, and schools for learning such techniques and activities, there is limited data in anthropological literature that examines the growing phenomenon of survival strategies trending in pop culture, nor data demonstrating who is prone to engage in such activities. Thus, I examine who is more likely to participate in such endeavors, their motivations, and for those that do, their chosen areas of interest, and if they participate in such activities do so either as a form of recreation, in preparation for unforeseen events, or to continue age-old traditions to keep them alive within our contemporary culture. The type of research utilizes mixed methods.
Adopting Ancient Ways: Who Participates and Why
As digital technologies are now easily accessible and readily available, most all persons in the United States possess a myriad of high-tech devices such as smart phones, laptops, tablets, or some facsimile thereof. Used every day by practically everyone of all ages, and from all demographics, these devices have become commonplace within every aspect of modern living, in the home, workplace, and available for public use. However, in lieu of this exponentially growing phenomena, many people, both on their own and within groups, have decided to engage in a re-learning of more ancient, non-technical living and subsistence strategies. Hence, it is important to interpret the rationale and motivation behind what prompts an individual, or groups, to engage in the re-learning of certain practices such as hunting and gathering, fishing, horticulture/gardening, agriculture, pastoralism, re-enactments, textile production, canning/preserving, and up to and including 4-H participation. While there are numerous books, videos, groups, and schools for learning such techniques and activities, there is limited data in anthropological literature that examines the growing phenomenon of survival strategies trending in pop culture, nor data demonstrating who is prone to engage in such activities. Thus, I examine who is more likely to participate in such endeavors, their motivations, and for those that do, their chosen areas of interest, and if they participate in such activities do so either as a form of recreation, in preparation for unforeseen events, or to continue age-old traditions to keep them alive within our contemporary culture. The type of research utilizes mixed methods.
