Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1998. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-56). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1995. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-58). Also available on the World Wide Web.

The aim of following thesis is to demonstrate the potentials of reassessing camp into a question of method. While others have argued for the definition of camp to lie in: an aesthetic; a question of taste; the extravagant theatrical; the male gay sensibility; or as an expression of parody, this thesis suggests that camp is to be found in the performative act of readings. With emphasis on ‘decoding language’, ‘the signifier/signified’ and ‘the camp eye’ I will argue for the relevance of ‘camp as method’ and situate former stated in relation to Bhabha’s concept of ‘conversational art’; a deconstructional examination of values of aesthetic experiences set into dialogue. Demonstrating for such conceptualization three theoretical approaches and themes will be outlined. First, a historical overview of camp followed by a reassessment of camp into a method. Second, an examination of possible extensions to the concept of rereading strategies within camp, including theories on queer phenomenology; queer space and time; topias and non-places; theories of curatorial methods and its agencies. And last, I will do an analysis of Moyra Davey’s video Hemlock Forest and show how Davey’s use and reference towards Chantal Akerman can be read as camp and constitutes ‘camp as method’ according to suggested reassessment.

Disturbance events affect forest composition and structure across a range of spatial and temporal scales, and forest development may differ after natural, anthropogenic, or compound disturbances. Following large, natural disturbances, salvage logging is a common yet controversial management practice around the globe. While the short-term impacts of salvage logging have been studied in many systems, the long-term effects remain unclear. Further, while natural disturbances create many persistent and unique microsite conditions, little is known about the long-term influence of microsites on forest development. We capitalized on over eighty years of data on stand development following the 1938 hurricane in New England to provide the longest known evaluation of salvage logging impacts, as well as to highlight developmental trajectories for eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)-white pine (Pinus strobus) forests under a variety of disturbance histories. Eight decades following disturbance, there were no differences in current overstory composition between areas that were logged, hurricane disturbed, or hurricane disturbed and salvage logged, but white pine declined across most sites. In contrast, structural characteristics remain distinct between the three management histories. In the unsalvaged area, the diversity of microsites and the coverage of uprootings and pits influenced overstory tree composition, diversity, and structural characteristics. These findings underscore the long-term influence of salvage logging on forest development and the importance of natural disturbance-mediated microsite conditions on tree species growth and survival. Future salvage logging efforts should consider these impacts and provide a greater range of unsalvaged areas across the landscape to maintain these important structural legacies over the long term.