This thesis explores the interweaving of colonial and post-colonial British and Jamaican Laws and the interpretive legalities of sexuality, compulsory heterosexuality, and queerness. The research project begins by exploring the ways in which the gendered colonial law produces black sexualities as excessive and in need of discipline while also noticing how Caribbean peoples negotiate and subvert these legalities. The work then turns to dancehall and its enmeshment with landscape (which reflects theatre-in-the round and African spiritual ceremonies), psycho scape (which retains African uses of marronage and pageantry as personhood), and musicscape (which deploys homophobia to demand heterosexuality), in order to tease out the complexities of Caribbean sexualities and queer practices. I couple these legal narratives and geographies with interviews and ethnographic data and draw attention to the ways in which queer men inhabit the dancehall. I argue that queer men participate in a dancehall culture—one that is perceived as heterosexual and homophobic—undetected because of the over-arching (cultural and aesthetic) queerness of the space coupled with the de facto heterosexuality afforded all who ‘brave’ dancehall’s homophobia. Queer dancehall participants report that inhabiting this space involves the tactical deployment of (often non-sexual) heterosexual signifiers as well as queering the dancehall aesthetic by moving from margin to centre. In so doing, I argue, queer dancehall queers transition from unvisible (never seen but always invoked) to invisible (blending into the queered space) while also moving across and through, as well as calling into question, North American gay culture, queer liberalism, and identity politics. / Thesis (Master, Gender Studies) -- Queen's University, 2014-01-30 13:32:15.082

This thesis is concerned with acknowledging farm animals and their co-presence in the more-than-human space of the livestock farm, and with accounting for them responsibly in sustainability debates. The enrolment of farm animals as actors in political agendas for environmental sustainability, and farm animal welfare suggests that there are new ways of seeing and being with farm animals that permit their relational presence and recognise their subjectivity. Indeed geographers have in recent years acknowledged animals and their relations with humans, and they have begun to recognise the nature of animal subjectivies. However, within the fundamental rethinking of animals that has been provoked by these discussions, I suggest that farm animals have remained relatively invisible. Occupying ethically confusing terrain, farm animals have nonetheless been visible in a set of philosophical positions regarding their moral status, yet these debates present a rather confusing picture in which the farm animal as an individual is conspicuous by its absence. In seeking to redress the invisibility of farm animals within these debates, and recast them in relation to humans and the broader farm ecology, this thesis attempts to set out an epistemological and methodological framework through which farm animals might become visible as individual fleshy beings. Drawing on the concept of agricultural stewardship and new agendas in farm animal welfare science, it makes use of new methodological tools that have emerged in the social sciences to conduct a relational study of the livestock farm; a study in which farm animals themselves participate. It also considers how the divisions that have been constructed between humans, farm animals and the environment can be reconfigured as a more unified political science of the livestock farm.

Set within discussions of gender, migration and social practices, this thesis explores the ways in which Thai women migrants to Sweden build connections between rural areas through their daily activities. Arriving in Sweden primarily through marriage ties, Thai women migrants are more likely to live in Swedish rural areas than in urban areas. Rural areas are typically not seen as a site of globalization or as receivers of international migrants. In contrast to these perceptions, the case of Thai women migrants in the Swedish countryside reveals a complex and vigorous set of social practices that connect rural Sweden across spatial and temporal scales. The aim of this study is to explore the ways in which Thai migrant women construct and implement social practices spatially and temporally. Drawing on the life stories of 16 Thai women living in Sweden, along with other sources of empirical data analysed within feminist epistemologies, this thesis discusses: In what ways does gender shape migrant social practices? How are social practices constructed within individual migrant micro-geographies? By what means are migrant social practices contextualized by spaces and places? Thai women migrants are gendered agents of these social practices and are utilizing specific resources, objects and networks to bridge the distances found in their daily lives. The empirical material examined in this thesis points to the importance of women’s everyday social practices in connecting and linking rural areas globally at different spatial and temporal scales. The results highlight the importance of a translocalism perspective to understanding gendered social practices. This study adds to the translocal discussion by demonstrating that social practices are embedded in multiple geographic sites and scales. Thai women migrants, in this study, emerge as significant actors in global countrysides and do the functional work of bringing spaces and places together daily and through their life course. This thesis consists of an introductory chapter and five papers. The introductory chapter outlines the context and theoretical approaches to understanding Thai migration flows to Sweden. The papers share an emphasis on local sites: homes, workplaces and community. They examine different ways that women construct and build social practices – for example, through food, community projects and in developing their businesses. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Submitted. Paper 5: Submitted.</p>

Muslim family members constitute a significant migration flow to the UK (Kofman et al., 2013). Despite such observations, this form of mobility is under-explored in geographic scholarship on migration. Accordingly, this thesis examines the subjective experiences of migration of a small group of Muslim women, who migrated either with or to join their families in Scotland. Participant observation, focus groups and the life narratives of eight women are used to gain an in-depth understanding of both the reasons for and the consequences of migration for this group of Muslim women. In addition, this thesis examines the role of a secular community-based organisation in supporting migrants in their everyday lives. Drawing on conceptual approaches to migration, this study reveals diverse and complex motivations among participants in “choosing” to migrate. Far from “victims” or “trailing wives”, participants privileged their children's needs but also the possibility to transform their sense of self through migration. The study draws attention to the struggles of daily life in Scotland where, bereft of extended family, the synchronisation of migration with childbirth resulted in some participants enduring years of isolation. Such struggles resulted in changes in the home, with husbands providing both physical and emotional support. The experience of migration affected the women's religious identities, providing solace as well as a way to assert belonging in Scotland by drawing on Islamic theology. The community-based organisation provided a “safe space”, bridging the secular and non-secular and offering women the chance to socialise, learn and volunteer. The study shows that volunteering provided not only a way into paid work but also shaped women's subjectivities and home lives. However, the re-direction of national government funding towards “Muslim problems” threatens to undermine the organisation's ability to continue to meet the local needs of Muslim migrant women.

This text aims to place nonhuman animals at the core of urban space and history to provide an insight into the life and materiality of dogs in Stockholm 1824-1920. The theoretical possibilities of more-than-human enquiries into history are discussed along with non-human animals as historical beings together with humans creating a common history (Ingold 2000, Whatmore 2002). Moreover nonhuman animals are discussed and incorporated in an exploration into using what is here discussed as a multispecies narrative and used as an analytical tool to try to avoid the pitfalls of representationalism. It is also introduced as a possible new methodology to approaching the urban landscape within the field of environmental history. The main empirical material of dogs in nineteenth century Stockholm are records from the city dog pound along with records of dog tax and rabies. Other than archive material a wide range of material contemporary to the research period such as art, photography and literature is used as part of a broad exploration of nonhuman animals as integral in materiality of Stockholm and as historical beings. Findings of the study confirm that dogs and other nonhuman animals hugely impacted both the spatial structure and social space of Stockholm and that this impact transformed over the research period defined by societal changes. More specifically the study shows that dogs played an important role as free roaming scavengers and were for this reason accepted as an integral part of the city in the nineteenth century in Stockholm. Later in the research period when the city became more regulated this role started to change and dogs were not accepted loose on the streets to the same degree and transformed into pets and symbols of social mobility and class. Regarding the use of a multispecies narrative the conclusion that can be drawn form this thesis is that is opens up for discussions on the materiality of urban space and history.

This thesis explores the ontologies of planning, science, and politics underlying the tunnel project at Hallandsås. Four such foundational (universal) views are identified – absolute conceptions of space, linear notions of time, binary logic and anthropocentrism. The thesis examines the subsequent re-workings of the foundational philosophies of space, time, environment, nature and the human behind the initial project in the aftermath of the environmental scandal. The basic aim of the thesis has been to argue for alternative ontologies of planning, science, and politics. In this regard, it is argued that a recasting of the foundational notions of mainstream planning, science and politics is a crucial first step. The thesis contends that perspectives based on hybrid geographies offer an alternative foundation for policy, planning and science that is closely adjusted to a more than human world. The issue of whether one can distinguish signs of a de facto shift to a hybrid geographic perspective in the post-Hallandsås tunnel project is also explored. The methodology of the study is inspired by the precepts of ANT (Actor Network Theory) of following actors in their networks, events and processes. In as much as humans and non-humans participate in the construction of the world in multiple or complex ways the thesis has tried to give voice to these different actors. As such, the study of the tunnel project follows a hybrid method, one that includes humans and non-humans. The thesis makes the case for discussing hybrid geographies as one possible alternative perspective in planning. Hybrid geographies propose a multifaceted perspective that argues for an inclusive geography and one that is adjusted to a more than human world. The experiences from the project at Hallandsås should therefore be applied to other projects and planning. In times of complex ecological and environmental problems, alternatives to mainstream planning are both desirable and required. Hybrid geographies involve issues of altering our ways of thinking, acting and being in the world, for our own good. In this regard, hybrid geographical perspectives could be a basis for alternatives to mainstream planning.

The dissertation addresses the negative consequences of the generally positive democratic ambition behind social planning: the good purpose may conceal less good actions. The aim is to study the thought-style of social planning and its most powerful topos, the denial of discrepancies. The focus of the dissertation is to exemplify how the denial of discrepancies and the consequences of denial become manifest. With emphasis on continuity and history, is shown how a Cartesian legacy shapes the thought-style of social planning, which is animated and upheld by the planning-collective: the integration of policy and science in planning. The planning-collective’s voice has become hegemonic through maintaining a harmony of illusions. The result is a lack of responsiveness to people’s varied modes of expression; voices that differ from the hegemonic thought-style are thus perceived as dissonance. Discrepancies in the form of differences of opinion and lack of consensus thus appear as sources of anxiety.  The mode of planning is based on a set of habitual thoughts and actions, topoi, that have become taken-for-granted. The result is an objectification of that which we call living, and the study shows through a number of examples, including “social economy”, how this form of objectification occurs. The epistemological frame of reference of the dissertation is constituted by Ludwik Fleck’s theory of thought-collectives, thought-styles and migrations of thought, and José Luis Ramírez’s action-theory, focused on language as action. Michel Foucault’s works on disciplining, political technologies, and discursive struggles are applied to create understanding of how the planning approach to representing people’s life activities has been shaped and how it influences them.

This thesis is a journey through a layered Icelandic landscape, where the representations and imaginings of outside travelers are in focus. Departing theoretically from narratives of the land- scape, I will discuss how the Icelandic landscape has been created as an imagined geography, and analyze the stories, representations and images infusing its experience and re-creation. Through the hermeneutic method of interpretation, the thesis travels from medieval times to con- temporary with the help of a wide use of actors and their choice of imaginative transportation, including books, maps, diaries, artwork and magazines. The reader will explore a wide array of narratives, which also show how the landscape takes place and becomes imbued with meaning during the act of traveling and interaction with the landscape, whether in body or in mind. Fur- thermore, I discuss the narratives of the landscape through representational acts, and argue that these create meaning for both the individual and collective experience. Whilst the narrative of the landscape shifts depending on time, place and the individual’s experiential baggage, certain common paths have been identified and expanded upon. Yet, these exist within a rugged process where the landscape moves back and forward in Western imagination.

In what can be characterized as a period of rapid ecological change, the global community has now reached an agreement on the importance of protecting what remains of the world’s biological diversity. In 2011, world governments pledged to extend protected areas (PAs) to 17% of the earth’s surface. Although, accumulated research documents the role PAs areas play in coping with environmental change, much of conservation practice remains at odds with the actual purpose of conservation: to enable natural and human systems to adapt and sustain life. Challenges in PA planning and management, and their connections (or lack thereof) to wider socio-economic and institutional frameworks have made environmental governance a leading concern in the study of PAs. This research examined the nature and dimensions of environmental governance affecting adaptive capacity and the sustainability of protected landscapes, particularly for PAs deemed to have been established and/or operating through ‘participatory’ governance. These issues are explored through comparative research based on case studies of two coastal PAs: Pacific Rim National Park Reserve in Canada, and Saadani National Park in Tanzania. Methods utilized included gathering qualitative and spatial data through interactions with decision-making bodies and representatives of agencies at the village/First Nations and park levels, interviews with state authorities at district and higher levels and document research. The research findings on the two PAs and adjacent communities unravel the nature and dynamics of steering institutions, institutional interplay and spatial interconnectedness as they relate to cooperation, agency and adaptability within and around protected landscapes. An examination of spatial and institutional arrangements within national frameworks, and an examination of governance and management practice at the level of individual parks reveal significant mismatches between policy discourses on multi-level cooperation and actual practice in state-based conservation. This research also reveals ways in which sustainability can be conceived and addressed through institutions and institutional interplay among park and community actors. The research analyzed ways in which encompassing frameworks shaped institutions, relationships and activities on the ground, and spatial interconnectedness and interdependence shaped the actions and agency of grassroots actors. The findings also demonstrate that there are critical differences between participation and the exercising of agency. While it is important to achieve a fair distribution of burdens and benefits across levels, it is shared jurisdiction and fair institutional interplay, rather than economic benefits, which can better enable all levels of social organizations to contribute to sustainability. In this regard, enhancing agency is essential to enabling adaptability and goes beyond addressing disruptive power relations; it also entails redefining perceptions of human nature and of spatial interconnectedness among communities and natural landscapes in the design of environmental institutions. It is through institutionally-driven processes, such as giving full political and financial support to states fixed on gaining spatial control of culturally diverse landscapes through restrictive conservation approaches, that conservation has become an instrument of oppression, and it is only through institutionally-driven means that acknowledge the importance and role of indigenous approaches to preserve ecological diversity that PAs can be made to serve their purpose: to preserve nature and cultural heritage for present and future generations. / Graduate / 0534 / 0366 / aleja@uvic.ca

This study analyses the wolf (canis lupus) and human relations in Swedish landscapes. By addressing the change of ideas influencing land use and nature management during the time when the wolf was considered functionally extinct, two parallel realities appear that is shown to be something that the participants in this study relates and recognizes as their reality. These realities in turn can be understood against the background of environmental philosophy and the anthropocentric and eco-centric view of nature and the instrumental and intrinsic value that the nature may carry. Life story interview is used as a method to grasp these details in an individual’s perception of the wolf and nature. Since the wolf is considered to be as a division between rural and urban people, the study also analyses how people sharing the space with the wolf is referring to these dichotomies and how they identify with their surroundings. With contradictory, data a new way of conceptualize this is suggested: that urbanity and rurality is something that could be seen as performativity, something that you do rather than something that you are (Butler 2007). One might express identification with rural space but have an urban performativity i.e. working, living part-time, influenced by ideas represented in urban lifestyles. While the rural performativity is mirrored by living, working and sharing the ideas of how that landscape is used.