Graduation Date
Fall 2017
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Social Science, Environment and Community
Committee Chair Name
Matthew Derrick
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Erin Kelly
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Sarah Ray
Third Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Latino, Latina, Spaces, Place, Community gardens, Religion, Latino culture, Environment, Environmentalism, Landscapes, Sense of place
Subject Categories
Geography
Abstract
Culture is often discussed in the content of social behavior but, how culture is spatially linked to landscapes is often overlooked. Points of social and cultural reproduction is not only tied to landscapes, but there are constantly challenged as new cultures are introduced into a space. Latino culture in the United States has, and continues to, reshape America’s landscapes. For purpose of this thesis, the reshaping of landscapes will be observed in a community. This project examines the perception that Latinos avoid participation in a community garden. This perception is not entirely true, as there was one Latina participating. As I engaged with the community for over two years, I recruited an additional six Latino volunteers. The argument is, if we analyze spaces as separate from one another, the actual participation of the Latino community in the garden is overlocked and it overlooks how culture reshapes landscapes. In short, the community garden’s existence is sustained by the activities and (Latinos) culture that occurs in other connected landscapes. Drawing on participant observation, participatory action research, surveys, and interviews, I analyze how intersecting axes of difference in culture influence participation in the garden and how culture shapes place making. To protect the community, I have changed the names of places and of individuals and chose to use the word “Town” to refer to the community of study.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Moreno, Elizabeth, "Nature, socio-spatial divisions and connections: an examination of El Jardín de Guadalupe" (2017). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 73.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/73
Included in
Community-Based Research Commons, Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Human Geography Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Other Geography Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons