The interaction between sensory, bodily and emotional factors is shown in this thesis to determine How it feels to hunt in Alaska. Hunters there see themselves as part of a shared landscape with their prey and other nonhuman animals. Within that environment they realise that, as part of the natural rhythms of life, they are not in control. Therefore, there are no expected guarantees of even sighting an animal within range or legal restrictions. I make the argument that both the weather and game animals have agency, contributing to the felt experiences. One aspect of hunting that this can be clearly seen in is materialities. Clothing is not static textile only and, like other things, gains its' relevance in a double manner: how the items are put to use, but also the inevitability that that will introduce situationally dependent sensations and' emotions. Movement, of a garment, an item or a machine plus the motion of the hunter, has the potential to radically rewrite the entire picture of what is felt. The thesis also demonstrates the lived temporalities of hunting. Hunters in Alaska are shown to handle, rather than exploit, time, tuning their bodily time to that of their quarry. Hunts are viewed here as without having specific beginnings and cut-off points. One folds into the next through preparation, anticipation, stories and learning. The emotions related to hunting are put forward as being of varying degrees of intensity depending on what the hunter is immersed in. Each of the major themes of embodiment, engagement, temporalities, sensory interaction with animals, the natural world and spaces of hunts contributes strongly in the making of place for hunters.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:602459 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | McCreary, Paul |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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