This thesis examines relationships between the social and physical environments of a village on Butaritari atoll in Kiribati. The system of ambilineal descent and land inheritance obtaining there results in complex networks of genealogical relationships which affect most aspects of social life, including land rights. While previous studies conducted in Kiribati have recognised the intimate connection between genealogy and land rights, none has investigated its ramifications for the distribution of land rights within a community. In contrast, this study engages that question as a central concern using a framework which integrates Bourdieu's concepts of social space, field and habitus with post-neo-Darwinian ideas about the relationship between organism and environment. The social space was found to be primarily structured by relationships based upon genealogy and secondarily by age and gender, each of which constituted a field within the wider social space. The genealogical field was defined by a network of positions, each representing a particular descent group. In accordance with the prevailing system of ambilineal descent, residents could belong to more than one descent group and it was upon the resulting networks of relationships between descent groups that the disposition of those groups within the genealogical field was defined. Because land-use rights were associated with genealogical connections the reconstruction of the genealogical field encompassing all of the village residents was a necessary precursor to discovering the distribution of those rights and the genealogical field was a central point of articulation between the social and physical spaces. The fields of age and gender relations provided further points of articulation between the social and physical spaces, the natures of which are examined through discussion of the material culture of the village and village and island politics. Despite a contemporary ideology of egalitarianism there were vestiges of a former hierarchy of social status groups. While the inter-group obligations, rights and responsibilities associated with this hierarchy were no longer practised, the association of contemporary residents with those social status groups bore a relationship to their position within the genealogical field and the amounts of land to which they shared rights.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:33:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 2446446 bytes, checksum: b95c7c3c34723065b273e7a211d408e7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-06-22 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / In this study we sought to understand the relationship between the changes in religious manifestations in rural Brazilian in times of high-modernity, and the social, economical and productive transformations that characterize the emergence of the so called new ruralities. For this cause we tried to perceive which way and how far the religious manifestations in the rural areas of the local municipality of Viçosa found to be connected to the transformations in the areas of jobs and income. More and more it is possible to see that job and occupation dynamics that show up in the profile of owners moves away from the common characteristics of traditions field work. The income sources of the interviewed families are from activities traditionally found in the rural environment, such as agriculture and cattle-raising, but by traditional urban jobs. In the same manner we find the presence of "neo-rural" groups in the rurality profile of Viçosa. Residents in the field that come from the city look for a simpler life in a rural environment, and naturally give meaning to this rural world. When we put our attention in the characteristics referring to the religious field in the studied communities, it was notable that its dynamics is characterized by a strong connection with the urban world. There is a plurality of religious denominations in the rural area of the local municipality of Viçosa. We verified a majority of Catholics, but a considerable number of historical Protestants, Pentecosts, Saint Daime followers, as well as interviewed those that declared no religion. Nevertheless, such considerations do not imply affirmations in distinctions of specific identities of rural areas in relation to urban, but that the rural rebuilds and is re-defined inside a global dynamic keeping rhythms and differentiated forms of absorption that give it a specific dynamic character. From this perspective, we cannot talk about rurality conditions other than these conjectural transformations neither stop protecting that such processes are constantly marked by the undeniable weight that traditions give them. / Buscamos neste estudo compreender as relações entre as mudanças do universo das manifestações religiosas no rural brasileiro, em tempos de alta-modernidade, e as transformações sociais, econômicas e produtivas que caracterizam a emergência das chamadas novas ruralidades. Nesse sentido procuramos perceber de que modo e em que medida a manifestação religiosa nas áreas rurais do município de Viçosa se encontra atrelada à transformações na esfera de emprego e renda. Cada vez mais é possível perceber que a dinâmica de empregos e ocupação que se apresenta no perfil dos proprietários foge a característica comum às tradições de trabalho no campo. As fontes de renda das famílias dos entrevistados não estão dadas pelas atividades tradicionalmente encontradas no meio rural, tais como a agricultura e a pecuária, mas antes, por trabalhos de tradição urbana. Na mesma medida, constatamos dentro do perfil de ruralidade em Viçosa, a presença de grupos "neo-rurais". Moradores do campo advindos da cidade, que procuram no meio rural uma forma de vida mais simples, dando significação a este rural, como natureza. Ao lançarmos nossa atenção para as características referentes ao campo religioso nas comunidades estudadas, é notável que a sua dinâmica se caracteriza por um forte embricamento com o universo urbano. Existe nas áreas rurais do município de Viçosa uma pluralidade de denominações religiosas. Verificamos uma maioria de católicos, mas um número representativo de protestantes históricos, pentecostais, adeptos do Santo Daime, assim como entrevistados que declararam não manter vínculos em relação à nenhuma instituição religiosa. Contudo, tal consideração não implica em afirmar uma indistinção da especificidade identitária do rural em relação ao urbano, mas, sim, que o rural se reconstrói e se redefine dentro de uma dinâmica global, guardando ritmos e formas de absorção diferenciadas, que lhe dão uma especificidade de caráter dinâmico. Nessa perspectiva, não poderíamos falar de condições de ruralidade alheias à estas transformações conjecturais, nem tampouco, deixar de resguardar que tais processos são constantemente marcados pelo peso inegável que as tradições lhes conferem.

Orientador: Fernando Antonio Lourenço / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T03:48:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Portella_MarianadeOliveira_M.pdf: 40098943 bytes, checksum: b2cbbf1fdf5f51b88563bdb293980a7c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Esta dissertação aborda o cultivo agroflorestal em cinco municípios da Zona da Mata pernambucana. Discussões teóricas são feitas no primeiro e segundo capitulo, sendo o terceiro de ordem empírica. No primeiro capítulo, uma analogia é feita entre Sistemas Agroflorestais e roças de coivara, de modo a apontar para as semelhanças e diferenças entre os dois sistemas e fazer considerações acerca do método agroecológico de construção de tecnologias. O segundo capítulo trata da Zona da Mata pernambucana e traça um histórico da agricultura na região, mostrando como o monocultivo canavieiro se implantou, homogenizou a paisagem local e determinou a estrutura fundiária da mesorregião, sendo uma de suas consequências a organização de movimentos sociais pela reforma agrária. O terceiro capitulo é composto pelos estudos de casos. Cinco agricultores foram visitados e suas experiências foram analisadas, no sentido de compreender suas vivências agroflorestais e de entendê-Ias dentro de seus contextos rurais específicos. Alguns aspectos importantes do modo de vida desses agricultores foram brevemente analisados, sendo eles a postura de resistência política, a ideologia preservacionista, a viabilidade econômica e a reprodução social. Tal análise permite a compreensão dos sistemas agroflorestais na Zona da Mata pernambucana enquanto ferramentas de resistência e de afirmação da agricultura familiar e ecológica. Os agricultores que adotam a agrofloresta como sistema produtivo não estão apenas sobrevivendo como podem, estão reproduzindo um modo de vida crítico e autônomo, bem como a idéia de um novo paradigma de desenvolvimento rural / Abstract: This research addresses the agroforestral cultivation in five municipalities of the Zona da Mata in Pernambuco. The first two chapters discuss theoretical issues. In the third chapter several empirical studies are presented. The first chapter draws an analogy between agroforestry and slash-and-bum systems in order to point out the similarities and differences amid these two systems and to further analyze the development of agroecological technologies. The second chapter elucidates the history of agriculture in the Zona da Mata of Pernambuco. It displays the implementation of the sugar cane monoculture, resulting in a homogenized local landscape and determining the land structure of this mesoregion. This transformation eventually led to the organization of social movements which advocate land reforms. The third chapter consists of case studies. Five agriculturists were visited and their way of life was analyzed in order to understand their agroforestral experiences within their specific rural contexts. Several important aspects concerning the way of life of these agriculturalists were briefly discussed; among them the attitude towards political resistance, the preservationist ideology, economic viability and social reproduction. Within this analysis, agroforestral systems in the Zona da Mata of Pernambuco can be understood as instruments of resistance and as an affirmation of ecological and family agriculture. Agriculturalists adopting agroforestry as their system of production are not merely surviving, but they are rather reproducing their critical and autonomous way of life as well as the idea of a new paradigm of rural development / Mestrado / Sociologia / Mestre em Sociologia

Na cena contemporânea, a questão ambiental tem sido foco de atenção da comunidade científica de diferentes países, subsidiando a formulação de políticas que permitam conciliar a produção com a satisfação de necessidades humanas e a conservação e uso racional dos recursos naturais. No âmbito rural, a agricultura é uma das atividades que mais deterioram o meio ambiente e cujas conseqüências sociais e ambientais adquirem proeminência no debate mundial. Desde a década de 60 do século passado, quando a crise ambiental ganhou espaço na agenda das discussões internacionais da ONU, surgem mundialmente diversas iniciativas que se colocam como alternativas ao padrão tecnológico da agricultura industrial, resultado da chamada revolução verde. Atualmente a visibilidade dessas iniciativas tem se ampliado e, junto com a sua projeção mundial, observa-se o uso indiscriminado de termos como “agricultura sustentável”, “agricultura orgânica”, “agricultura natural”, “agricultura ecológica” a “agroecologia”, seja por desconhecimento de suas distinções, seja motivado por interesses fundamentalmente econômicos na apropriação dessas iniciativas. A presente dissertação propõe-se a um esclarecimento conceitual sobre a Agroecologia considerando os problemas rurais como expressões da sociedade capitalista e do padrão de desenvolvimento hegemônico, cujas interpretações sofrem refrações da atual crise paradigmática da ciência. A pesquisa apresenta uma retrospectiva histórica dos marcos fundantes da Agroecologia no âmbito da Ecologia agrícola através da análise do seu processo de desenvolvimento e enriquecimento teórico, tomando como referenciais os trabalhos de Miguel A. Altieri e de Eduardo Sevilla Guzmán devido a sua projeção internacional e complementaridade das abordagens. A pesquisa identifica um processo de continuidades e rupturas no desenvolvimento histórico da Agroecologia, o que indica a riqueza e, ao mesmo tempo, a complexidade do processo de sua constituição e do tema que abrange, e para além de concepções puramente técnicas e ahistóricas. As continuidades se expressam na incorporação e desenvolvimento do acervo de fundamentos teóricos e conhecimentos técnicos especializados acumulados ao longo de seu processo de formação; e as rupturas encontram-se consubstanciadas na subordinação dessas conquistas ao direcionamento social das pesquisas e ações empreendidas no marco dessa orientação teórica, direcionadas ao desenvolvimento rural. A Agroecologia nessa abordagem, mais que como uma ferramenta para o estabelecimento de sistemas produtivos sustentáveis, afirma a possibilidade de potencializar os processos sociais, resgatando formas de conhecimento e de práticas dos próprios agricultores mediante estratégias metodológicas voltadas ao desenvolvimento rural sustentável. Ela implica a afirmação de um pensamento social crítico – junto a estudantes, profissionais e agricultores - para além da racionalidade instrumental vigente na comunidade científica ocidental. / In the contemporary context, the environmental issue has been the main focus for the scientific community of different countries. They provide background to new policies that join production and satisfaction of human needs together with preservation and rational management of natural resources. In the countryside, agriculture is responsible for most environmental damage, and its socioenvironmental consequences are drawing attention of global debates. Since the1960´s, when the environmental subject was brought up to international discussions at UN, worldwide initiatives have been set in motion to stand for alternatives to the technological pattern of industrial agriculture - result of the so-called Green Revolution. Nowadays, as the visibility of these enterprises increases, along with its worldwide projection, we notice an indiscriminate use of terms such as “sustainable agriculture”, “organic agriculture”, “natural agriculture”, “ecological agriculture” and “agroecology”, due to an unclear distinction of these terms or due to economical interests in appropriating them. The present dissertation proposes a conceptual elucidation about Agroecology, considering rural problems as expressions of the capitalist society and the hegemonic development model, whose interpretations suffer refractions from the present science paradigmatic crisis. This research presents a historical retrospective of the beginning of Agroecology, in the Agricultural Ecology field, through the analysis of its development process and theoretical enrichment, taking as backgrounds the works of Miguel A. Altieri and Eduardo Sevilla Guzmán, due to their international recognition and complementary approaches. This research identifies a process of “continuums” and “ruptures” in the historical development of Agroecology, which indicates the richness and complexity of its development and of the subject it embraces, beyond purely technological and ahistorical conceptions. The “continuums” are expressed by the incorporation and development of the theoretical basis and of specialized technical knowledge, gathered along its development; and the “ruptures” are found in the subordination of these conquers to the social aim of research and initiatives taken in the mark of this theoretical orientation, concerning rural development. In this approach, Agroecology means more than simply a tool to design sustainable productive systems, but it represents a possibility to empower social processes, rescuing peasants’ knowledge and practices through methodological strategies aimed at the sustainable rural development. It implies the affirmation of a critic social thought – by students, professionals and peasants – beyond the operational rationality reigning over occidental scientific community.

Orientador: Leila da Costa Ferreira / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T01:22:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Santos_AnaCarolinaVilaRamosdos_D.pdf: 1403469 bytes, checksum: 2185a1777712376a1277adb4027f2858 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Neste trabalho, tomo como objetivo estudar um período crucial à formação do pensamento sociológico brasileiro- décadas de 1940 a 1960- tomando como obra-guia "Os Parceiros do Rio Bonito" de Antonio Candido. Sugiro que a sociologia de Antonio Candido e seu "Os parceiros do Rio Bonito" encontram-se na confluência de debates teóricos, metodológicos, sociais e políticos cruciais na compreensão da formação do pensamento sociológico brasileiro. Tomando como idéia-guia 'natureza' em sua articulação com o tema da modernidade, proponho desenhar uma história sobre o que e como se pensou sobre natureza na sociologia paulista munida do intento de oferecer um substrato crítico para o desenvolvimento dos estudos contemporâneos, no âmbito da sociologia, em torno da temática ambiente e sociedade / Abstract: This work looks at a important moment of the Brazilian sociological thought formation - from 1940 to 1960 - and takes as object of study Antonio Candido's "Os Parceiros do Rio Bonito". We suggest that Antonio Candido's sociology, as constructed and exposed in "Os Parceiros do Rio Bonito, is in the confluence of theoretical, methodological, social e political debates crucial to the comprehension of the Brazilian social thought formation. Taking as guide the idea of nature in its articulation with the theme "modernity", I intend to draw a history about what and how nature has been thought in the Brazilian sociology (especially, those studies that take place in São Paulo state in the period drawn above) as a first step to construct a critical background to the development of contemporary studies in the environmental sociology / Doutorado / Sociologia / Doutora em Sociologia

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T14:33:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Maria_Regina_Caetano_Costa.pdf: 1083090 bytes, checksum: 365cc671f85113b5efd95086e92e95f2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-07-15 / The rural population has experienced changes in terms of occupation of its workforce and, mainly, in their conditions of income earning. These changes affect differently the diverse sectors of this population. Among the family farmers have been occurring an important process of rural areas abandonment, especially by the young, who search in the urban environment the accomplishment for their life projects. The youth, who identified in the agricultural activity a fertile field for their professional achievement, began to realize other activities unrelated to agriculture. The reproductive strategies of rural families eventually are adapted to the socioeconomic context in which they live. One can also observe that the likely crises and changes in rural areas affect the construction of the projects of the rural youth, then they start to reformulate the familiar or individual strategies, in distinct social and economic contexts. This study is characterized as a sequence of a research work that originated a dissertation defended at the Universidade Federal de Pelotas in 2006, whose target audience were high school students from the School Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, in the urban perimeter of Morro Redondo, RS, Brazil. Facing this scenery we intended, through a case study, to return to these these young people in order to investigate which are the professional strategies that have been adopted by the rural youth for the permanence or desertion of the area in the municipality of Morro Redondo city, RS. To evaluate the current information and the information obtained in the earlier period, we used qualitative and quantitative methodology combined, in order to cross the produced speeches. The interviews allowed us to conclude that the uncertainty of a fixed payment is manifested as an element that contributes to the youth to the abandon the familiar activity and the continuity of the formal education has shown itself as strategy to achieve their life projects, thus threatening the possibility of succession in family production units. / A população do meio rural vem experimentando mudanças em termos de ocupação da sua força de trabalho e, principalmente, nas suas condições de obtenção de renda. Estas mudanças afetam os diversos setores desta população de modo distinto. Entre os agricultores familiares tem ocorrido um importante processo de abandono do meio rural, principalmente pelos jovens, que buscam no meio urbano a realização para os seus projetos de vida. Os jovens, que identificavam na atividade agrícola um campo fértil para a sua realização profissional, passaram a perceber outras atividades desvinculadas da agricultura. As estratégias de reprodução das famílias rurais acabam sofrendo adaptações ao contexto socioeconômico em que vivem. Pode-se também observar que as prováveis crises e mudanças no meio rural afetam a construção dos projetos dos jovens rurais, então estes passam a reformular as estratégias familiares ou individuais, em contextos sociais e econômicos distintos. Este estudo caracteriza-se como uma sequência de um trabalho de pesquisa que originou uma dissertação de mestrado defendida junto a UFPel no ano de 2006, cujo público-alvo foram jovens estudantes de ensino médio da Escola Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, no perímetro urbano de Morro Redondo-RS. Perante este cenário, pretendeu-se através de um estudo de caso, retornar a estes jovens para investigar quais as estratégias profissionais quem vem sendo adotadas pela juventude rural para a permanência ou abandono do meio, no município de Morro Redondo. Para avaliar as informações atuais e as informações obtidas no período anterior fez-se o uso combinado de metodologia qualitativa e quantitativa, a fim de cruzar os discursos produzidos. As entrevistas permitem empreender que a incerteza de uma remuneração fixa se manifesta como um elemento que contribui para que a juventude abandone a atividade familiar, e a continuidade da educação formal vem apresentando-se como estratégia para a realização dos seus projetos de vida e, ameaçando assim, a possibilidade de sucessão nas unidades de produção familiares.

Cet écrit s'intéresse au rôle de l'économie politique dans les mobilisations rurales contemporaines. En mettant l'accent sur les récentes luttes pour l'eau en Turquie, contre les centrales hydroélectriques « au fil de l'eau (SHP). La recherche creuse principalement les facteurs sociétaux et économiques qui rendent possible ou empêchent l'émergence de mobilisations fortes, à travers la comparaison des réactions contre les projets SHP dans quatre localités de la région de l'est de la mer Noire - Kavak (Arhavi) et Aralik (Borcka)- et son arrière pays Tortum (villages de Pehlivanli et Bagbasi).La logique principale derrière cette comparaison croisée est de déterminer si il y a une relation entre les formes de vies rurales, principalement définies en termes de productions, marché, place dans le système économique général, migrations et viabilité des espaces, et des mobilisations politiques contre les constructions de SHP combinées avec d'autres raisons existantes pouvant mener à une agitation ou des conflits. Dans ce contexte, j'appuierai la thèse que Kavak (Arhavi) et Aralik (Borçka) sont devenus des espaces péri-urbains à travers la transformation particulière par laquelle ils sont passés. Le caractère péri-urbain a facilité le voyage des idées et des schémas de politisations urbaines dans les villes natales des citadins. Dans le cas particulier d’ Arhavi, l'effet de la ville dans la mobilisation anti-SHP est évident. Un groupe de personnes originaires d'Arhavi qui peuvent être qualifiés de nouvelle classe moyenne ont été pionniers de la résistance. Ils ont rendu possible des alliances plus larges et ont contribué au renforcement d'une résistance carnivalesque avec des rituels, une réinvention des traditions et des micro-identités. A Aralik par contre, malgré toutes les tentatives, un modèle similaire n'a pas pu être atteint. Le modèle de migration rurale-urbaine a laissé un espace socio-économique viable dans la ville de Arhavi alors que celle de Aralik a été négativement impactée par ces migrations rurales-urbaines, ce qui peut alors être considéré comme un facteur de non-viabilité. Au contraire des petits villages de l'est de la Mer Noire producteurs de petites marchandises, les vallées arides de Tortum abritent des maisons de paysans, qui pratiquent une agriculture de subsistance. Ce type d'habitat a pu continuer à être viable malgré un statut socio-économique peu élevé. Le niveau de la population rurale est resté à peu près stable jusqu'au débit des années 2000. Comme la production est dépendante de l'irrigation, les SHP posent une menace sérieuse sur les moyens d'existence et cela a violemment mobilisé une population auparavant renfermée et docile. Cependant, le discours, le cadre, l'amplitude et les techniques de mobilisation sont complètement différents de ceux des espaces péri-urbains de la Mer Noire. L'amplitude de la mobilisation est directement reliée à celle de la menace sur les moyens de subsistance de la population à Bagbasi et Pehlivanli. Quand la menace est élevée, comme à Bagbasi, la mobilisation est forte. Inversement, quand la menace est faible, comme à Pehlivanli, et qu'il existe des opportunités amenées par la compagnie construisant les SHP qui permettent d'atténuer les effets sur les ressources, une mobilisation est peu susceptible d'arriver. De cela, j'affirme que les transformations spatio-économiques des localités qui transforment de manière inégale les configurations rurales en termes d'activités de production et de consommation ont un impact sur les schémas, discours et des modes des mobilisations rurales contemporaines. De ce fait, la thèse plaide pour un besoin de théorisation des mobilisations agraires contemporaines depuis cette perspective en mettant l'accent sur les transformations des moyens d'existence, les transformations et la viabilité de l'espace, la commercialisation de la production et la différenciation entre la paysannerie. / This dissertation examines role of political economy in contemporary agrarian mobilizations. By focusing on recent water struggles in Turkey against the run-of-the-river hydropower plants (SHP’s); the research digs into the societal and economic factors that enable or inhibit the emergence of strong mobilizations through a comparison of reactions against SHP projects in four localities of Eastern Black Sea region- Kavak (Arhavi) and Aralik (Borcka)- and its hinterland Tortum (Pehlivanli and Bagbasi villages)The main logic behind the cross comparison is to find out if there is a relationship between the forms of rural livelihoods; mostly defined in terms of production, marketing, place in the general economic system, migration and viability of space; and political mobilization against SHP construction combined with the other possible reasons leading to an unrest and contention. The research revealed that prior transformation of the rural spaces affects the ways, means and discourses of the local struggles. In this context, I would argue that Kavak (Arhavi) and Aralik (Borçka) have become peri-urban spaces through the specific transformation that they have gone through. The peri-urban character eased the travel of ideas and city-based politicization patterns into the hometown. In the specificity of Arhavi, the city-effect in the anti-SHP mobilization is evident which gives a particular framing and discourse to the mobilization. A group of people that can be classified as new middle class who are from Arhavi but lived and worked in the big cities pioneered in the resistance. They enabled broader alliances and contributed to the strengthening of a carnivalesque resistance with rituals, reinvented traditions and micro-identities. However in Aralik, despite all the attempts, similar pattern could not be reached. The difference can be traced in the arguments of the viability of the space. The rural-urban migration pattern kept the town of Arhavi as a viable socio-economic space whereas; the town of Aralik has been adversely affected from the rural-urban migration that can be regarded as non-viability.Contrary to commercialized petty-commodity producing villages of Eastern Black Sea, the arid valleys of Tortum sheltered peasant households, which endure on subsistence farming. Viability of these societal settings well continued, despite the low socio-economic status. Rural population levels remained almost stable until the beginning of 2000s. Since the production is dependent on irrigation, the SHP posed a serious threat on the livelihood and this has fiercely mobilized previously closed and docile population. However, the discourse, framing and extent and techniques of mobilization is completely different from the peri-urban contexts of coastal Black Sea. The extent of mobilization is directly related to the extent of threat on the livelihood in Bagbasi and Pehlivanli. When the threat is high, as in Bagbasi, the mobilization is strong. However, when the threat is low, as in Pehlivanli, and there are opportunities provided by the company that would ease the livelihood pressures, non-mobilization is more likely.Hence, I argue that spatio-economic transformation of the localities that unevenly transform rural settings in terms of production and consumption activities have impact on the patterns, discourses and agency in the contemporary ‘rural’ mobilizations. Therefore, the dissertation advocates for a need for theorisation of contemporary agrarian mobilization from this perspective by putting the emphasis on the livelihood transformations, transformation and viability of space, commercialization of production and differentiation within the peasantry and the agency.

Historically, American farmers have been identified as white, middle-aged, working- to middle-class, men who reside in rural environments to grow large expanses of corn, soybeans, or wheat. However, this dissertation questions this fraught representation of past farmers and introduces a new identity in contemporary American agriculture - Young Farmers. Usually, Young Farmers are first-generation agriculturalists, who hold small parcels of land, produce a diverse assortment of crops, and adopt items of rural material culture to better perform as farmers. Additionally, they believe their lifestyles and their existences are dependent upon interactions with their local environments and members of their communities. By focusing on these individuals, this study examines how American farmers, the environments they inhabit, the goods they produce, and the locations they distribute their products have changed, especially after the most recent Farm Crisis in the 1980s.<div><br></div><div>To best understand these alterations, this dissertation offers an exploration of three farmers market locations in Michigan's Lower Peninsula to highlight and compare the social, cultural, environmental, and economic shifts occurring in the agricultural community. Arguably, farmers markets provide Young Farmers a space to meet prospective consumers and to distribute their products to them. Likewise, these site are a venue for Young Farmers to develop successful systems of community with other people involved with small-scale farming. Throughout this dissertation, I layer ethnographic and historical archive data with quantitative metrics, such as U.S. Census Bureau data to better explain demographic shifts occurring across Michigan's farming landscape. Additionally, I critically analyze images associated with past and current representations of individuals involved with agriculture to address how Young Farmers redefine themselves culturally and participate in methods of food and economic sustainability. By studying and understanding the codependence of the people and place who comprise farmers and farming communities in a representative location like Michigan, I recognize the relevance of the Midwest as a crossroads of contemporary American agriculture. </div>

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The lasting effects of childhood trauma into adulthood have been well corroborated by research from a variety of sources. Previous research has found a vast number of psychological, behavioral, and health related outcomes that are negatively affected by victimization in childhood. This piece strives to assess the correlates between childhood trauma and adult reproductive behavior and well-being for women living in Appalachia. The NCIPC has found that residents of Appalachia are at higher risks for both experiencing childhood traumas and poor health outcomes (2017). To create long-term positive reproductive health behaviors among Appalachian women, it is essential to examine how experiences with childhood trauma have affected these behaviors and how victims are likely to behave in adulthood in regards to their reproductive health. The results have implications for showcasing the unique difficulties experienced by women who were victims of childhood trauma which can impact the way healthcare providers and organizations can better assist the unique needs of this population.