This thesis explores the relationship between 1970s lesbian-feminist theory and praxis through analysis of the cultural production and lived experiences of Jean and Ruth Mountaingrove, two members of a loose-knit community of back-to-the-land lesbian-feminist separatists in southern Oregon. The Mountaingroves published several successful lesbian-feminist publications from the 1970s until the mid-1980s, as well as incorporating lesbian feminism into all aspects of their personal lives, in essence politicizing their whole lives. The interconnection between the Mountaingroves' personal, public, and professional lives illustrates some of the overarching changes lesbian-feminist theory initiated through the politicization of identity and isolation from men, as well as the boundary-making and contradictions that occurred when lesbian feminists attempted to integrate theory into their personal lives. Through the Mountaingroves' story we can see the fruitful unifying nature of lesbian-feminist theory and culture and the many paradoxes inherent in the politics of identity on public and private levels.

This dissertation examines Carla Emery's The Encyclopedia of Country Living and her contribution to the modern homesteading movement. Emery (1939-2005) advocated the use of traditional methods and antique cookbooks for food self-sufficiency. She first self published and distributed the book in "issues" (1971), which were eventually combined and sold as a single book, originally named The Old Fashioned Recipe Book (1974). A reading community developed around The Encyclopedia and readers participated in its development by submitting recipes and homesteading resources. Several editions have followed and the book remains in print, considered an authoritative reference for modern homesteading. Modern homesteading is rooted in the traditions of homesteading and domestic advice. It represents a consciousness of human relationships with the land for food production and the role domestic advice in cooking and other aspects of home economics, Emery recommended a country living foodways and 19th century methods of food production for homesteading, attempting to de-industrialize the kitchen. Emery represents an important and persistent cultural interest in going back-to-the-land. Modern homesteading practices also provide possible responses to contemporary post-industrial concerns including consumer culture, food insecurity, and the environment.

Earth Island is a core metaphor of activist thought often applied in Environmental Analysis and related fields as a tool for thinking about the planet’s limited resources. It puts forth the claim that if only we thought of the earth as more like an island, we would better understand our connectivity to other living things and be drawn to develop better and more extensive practices of environmental stewardship. This thesis uses personal accounts of environmental life philosophies and political practices collected from residents of the Discovery Islands in British Columbia as a site for analytical comparison between the theory and practice of "Earth Island." First providing an overview of the history of Earth Island and exploring existing Anthropology and Island Studies scholarship on island community dynamics and environmental perspectives, this thesis examines how the environmental relationships experienced by Discovery Islanders reflect or differ from the type of activist consciousness theoretically proposed by Earth Island. This creates a context for critically reflecting on the limits and applications of the Earth Island metaphor, and suggesting shifts in current approaches to the use of island imagery in environmental political and philosophical thought, promoting a focus on more community cooperation-oriented, less fatalistic themes.

À l’heure où des milliers de producteurs délaissent leur métier et où des rapports alarmants dénoncent les conditions de travail difficiles et la détresse psychologique au sein du milieu agricole, de nouveaux acteurs décident de « retourner à la terre ». Cette thèse s’intéresse à la démarche en apparence « paradoxale » de ces nouveaux venus qui ne sont pas issus du milieu agricole et qui choisissent l’agriculture comme seconde carrière. Au Québec, ces nouvelles installations prennent la forme de reconversions graduelles et visent principalement les secteurs biologiques. Elles s’opèrent sur de petites surfaces d’exploitation, en privilégiant l’insertion dans des échanges marchands durables et territorialisés. Ces bifurcations vers l’agriculture, qui répondent initialement, entre autres, à une quête de sens ou au désir de contribuer positivement à la société, se heurtent néanmoins à de nombreuses difficultés avec l’expérience concrète de travail. À la croisée de la sociologie des migrations néo-rurales et de celle de la profession d’agriculteur, cette recherche examine le processus de ces « retours à la terre » pour mieux comprendre les épreuves et défis qui jalonnent ces carrières agricoles. Elle mobilise une analyse de la bifurcation sur le temps long autour de trois temporalités (la bifurcation – la transition – le maintien en agriculture) révélant ainsi le caractère dynamique des trajectoires agricoles. La confrontation du travail imaginé avec le travail réel montre la façon dont les néo-agriculteurs modifient le rapport qu’ils entretiennent avec leur travail, mettent en place des stratégies de survie et recomposent leurs engagements pour s’adapter à une réalité parfois plus rude que prévue. À travers la construction de trois profils idéal-typiques (les « entrepreneurs », les « activistes » et les « terriens »), cette thèse cherche également à montrer la diversité des expressions du « retour à la terre ». Loin d’être un bloc monolithique, ces bifurcations agricoles sont teintées d’idéaux, d’attentes et d’aspirations qui s’inscrivent dans une trajectoire personnelle passée. Les analyses montrent la manière dont ces parcours agricoles se forment et évoluent en fonction d’aspirations professionnelles spécifiques, invitant alors à penser ces retours à la terre au pluriel. / At a time when thousands of producers are abandoning their profession and alarming reports denounce the difficult working conditions and psychological distress within the agricultural community, new actors are deciding to « go back to the land ». This thesis focuses on the seemingly "paradoxical" approach of those newcomers who do not come from a farming background and who choose farming as a second career. In Quebec, these new installations take the form of gradual reconversions and are mainly aimed at the organic sector. They are carried out on small farm areas, with the emphasis on integration into sustainable and territorialized market exchanges. These shifts towards agriculture, which initially respond, among other things, to a quest for meaning or a desire to make a positive contribution to society, are nonetheless encountering numerous difficulties with the concrete experience of work. At the crossroads of the sociology of neo-rural migration and that of the farming profession, this research examines the process of these « returns to the land» in order to better understand the trials and challenges that mark these agricultural careers. It mobilizes an analysis of the bifurcation over time around three temporalities (the bifurcation - the transition - the maintenance in agriculture) revealing the dynamic character of agricultural trajectories. The confrontation of imagined work with real work shows how neo-farmers modify their relationship with their work, implement survival strategies and recompose their commitments to adapt to a reality that is sometimes harsher than expected. Through the construction of three ideal-typical profiles (the "entrepreneurs", the "activists" and the "nature lovers"), this thesis also seeks to show the diversity of expressions of the return to the land. Far from being a monolithic block, these agricultural bifurcations are tinged with ideals, expectations and aspirations that are part of a past personal trajectory. The analyses show how these agricultural paths are formed and evolve according to specific professional aspirations, thus inviting us to think of these returns to the land in the plural.

After the repeal of the Corn Laws ended the policy of protectionism which had enabled Britain to feed herself from within her own resources, free trade resulted in domestic food production constituting only 30% of the British diet. This study looks at the political discourse from 1880 to 1939 when the ¿empty countryside¿ became a symbol of agricultural decline. Emerging radical and socialist narratives put forward approaches for rural regeneration and increased food production. Other narratives suggested that agricultural decline was one manifestation of national decline whereby a self sufficient and proud nation was being betrayed by Capitalism. Both Left and Right offered up the prospect of different solutions predicated upon shared perceptions of ¿Englishness.¿ The experience of Irish famine failed to inform political action or policy making. The study notes the importance of War upon the development of food policy. Increasingly, the State joined forces with the NFU in a corporate endeavour which sought to manage, rather than increase, food production and created structures which became increasingly important in the context of rearmament. Increased food production was rejected upon defence grounds in that free trade and a navy were seen as appropriate safeguards. Those countries which sought to follow self sufficiency ¿ or autarky ¿ are portrayed as warlike in their intentions; by 1939 all mainstream political parties rejected the notion of artificially increased food production. Those who continued to press for increased food production concentrated either upon earlier pre Capitalist societies or were attracted by Fascism and strong leadership. After such searches became increasingly problematic there was emphasis upon the soil, with the adoption of an approach which was both practical and mystical.

In the face of climate change, political instability, ecological destruction, extinction of species and other global issues humanity is facing, various studies are showing that a radical societal transformation is needed to avoid an ecological collapse. This thesis explores the contemporary social-environmental phenomenon “nya gröna vågen” (new-back-to-the-landers) in Sweden as a response to an urgent need for societal transformation as well as a resistance to the conventional modern society. The aim of the study is to examine the material practices in which people within “nya gröna vågen” are involved, how their ideas relate to those practices, and what could be learned from the practitioners in terms of future pathways. To meet this aim, a variant of practice theory is used, which acknowledges non-human actors as well as ideas. Material practice is conceptualized as a network of associations of human and non-humans in specific time-spaces. The study uses semi-structured interviews with practitioners within “nya gröna vågen” and observations. The results show that practices within “nya gröna vågen” are connected to the physical surrounding where they are performed. The material practices of, for example, food provisioning, are understood as embodied understandings of the world made up by a network of human and non-human actors. Further, the material practices within “nya gröna vågen” are based on the idea of a co-creation of human and non-human actors shaping the world. The results also indicate how the actors’ material world-making practices responds to the current planetary situation. In response to what they perceive to be an ecological crisis, they have become involved in practices like regenerative agriculture, adapting to the evolving landscape and water projects. The results also present how the material practices bounded to a specific place as a platform for life are giving a sense of stability and belonging. A relational way of life where people are shaping new imaginations on how to navigate and make life in the future through practices in human/non-human networks.