I am a geographer interested in how humans create landscapes of care for each other. My particular focus is on non-sanctioned care for asylum seekers and refugees in Southeastern Europe. Supervisors: Joanna Regulska and Lydia Mihelic Pulsipher Address: Amherst, Massachusetts
This paper presents the kozolec, or Slovenian hayrack, as one of the markers of the Slovene lands... more This paper presents the kozolec, or Slovenian hayrack, as one of the markers of the Slovene landscape. The kozolec is found in several different forms in approximately 80% of Slovenia. While not unique in its form and use among people of Slovene ethnicity, it has been elevated to a symbolic status among some Slovenians. Its traditional use is in sharp decline, but it has been readapted in new ways to continue its work of showing where Slovenia is. Is this a shift in representation or a new practice of the kozolec? This question is answered by re-theorizing how identity happens as a matter of practice. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=vth&AN=60861760&site=ehost-live
This research investigates the intersections of national identity, representation, and material c... more This research investigates the intersections of national identity, representation, and material culture in the Republic of Slovenia. The subject of the thesis, the kozolec, is a freestanding farm implement, usually made of wood, used to dry hay as fodder for animals and, ...
As a nation-state, Slovenia represents an increasingly rare case wherein 80 percent of the countr... more As a nation-state, Slovenia represents an increasingly rare case wherein 80 percent of the country identifies as ethnically homogeneous. Even in the face of this fact, Slovenia's ethno-national identity has been called into question since its independence. The European refugee crisis has brought this questioning into sharp focus as the admittance, care and transfer of refugees has caused burdens not only economically and logistically, but also in terms of what it means to be Slovenian and European at the same time. In a place with little history of provision of care for large-scale refugee populations, the cultural and political frameworks of Slovene society do not possess the crisis response capacity that its Northern European neighbors might. In fact, Slovenia's record on human rights is not as stellar as is often presented to the world at large. This paper argues that Slovenia's place in Mit-teleuropa serves as a hindrance to it as a place of social care and reaffirms certain historical conditions that render it a transitory space between The Other and the 'real' Europe. It relies upon field observations of how Slovenia organized its response to the crisis in the autumn of 2015 and criticizes those responses as reaffirming both the post-socialist transition and the neoliberal intent of its national infrastructure and political economy.
This paper explores the vanishing Jewish landscape of the Dominican Republic. Sosua, a former dai... more This paper explores the vanishing Jewish landscape of the Dominican Republic. Sosua, a former dairy cooperative town, was colonized by German and Austria Jews fleeing Europe during the months before the beginning of World War II. At the invitation of the Dominican Republic’s dictator, Trujillo, Jews were settled in Sosua where they founded a once-thriving agricultural community. What has happened to the material culture that these forced migrants created and what does it say about the relationships of globalization, human rights abuse, and landscape erasure? This question is posed and a possible research agenda pertaining to it is proposed.
This paper presents a history and comparative analysis of the political geography of Knoxville, T... more This paper presents a history and comparative analysis of the political geography of Knoxville, TN over the past 25 years. It notes a shift within the city of Knoxville to a more deliberative style of democracy marked by pragmatic decision making and inclusive policies. In contradistinction, Knoxville’s twin municipality, Knox County, is presented as remnant political entity that still participates in partisan politics driven as much by state and national party political agendas as the needs of local municipalities. A brief history is offered and a discussion of possible avenues of change for machine politics dominated County, but also a set of strategic decisions that must be made in the future by the City of Knoxville in order to maintain its progressive politics and independence.
This paper presents the kozolec, or Slovenian hayrack, as one of the markers of the Slovene lands... more This paper presents the kozolec, or Slovenian hayrack, as one of the markers of the Slovene landscape. The kozolec is found in several different forms in approximately 80% of Slovenia. While not unique in its form and use among people of Slovene ethnicity, it has been elevated to a symbolic status among some Slovenians. Its traditional use is in sharp decline, but it has been readapted in new ways to continue its work of showing where Slovenia is. Is this a shift in representation or a new practice of the kozolec? This question is answered by re-theorizing how identity happens as a matter of practice. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=vth&AN=60861760&site=ehost-live
This research investigates the intersections of national identity, representation, and material c... more This research investigates the intersections of national identity, representation, and material culture in the Republic of Slovenia. The subject of the thesis, the kozolec, is a freestanding farm implement, usually made of wood, used to dry hay as fodder for animals and, ...
As a nation-state, Slovenia represents an increasingly rare case wherein 80 percent of the countr... more As a nation-state, Slovenia represents an increasingly rare case wherein 80 percent of the country identifies as ethnically homogeneous. Even in the face of this fact, Slovenia's ethno-national identity has been called into question since its independence. The European refugee crisis has brought this questioning into sharp focus as the admittance, care and transfer of refugees has caused burdens not only economically and logistically, but also in terms of what it means to be Slovenian and European at the same time. In a place with little history of provision of care for large-scale refugee populations, the cultural and political frameworks of Slovene society do not possess the crisis response capacity that its Northern European neighbors might. In fact, Slovenia's record on human rights is not as stellar as is often presented to the world at large. This paper argues that Slovenia's place in Mit-teleuropa serves as a hindrance to it as a place of social care and reaffirms certain historical conditions that render it a transitory space between The Other and the 'real' Europe. It relies upon field observations of how Slovenia organized its response to the crisis in the autumn of 2015 and criticizes those responses as reaffirming both the post-socialist transition and the neoliberal intent of its national infrastructure and political economy.
This paper explores the vanishing Jewish landscape of the Dominican Republic. Sosua, a former dai... more This paper explores the vanishing Jewish landscape of the Dominican Republic. Sosua, a former dairy cooperative town, was colonized by German and Austria Jews fleeing Europe during the months before the beginning of World War II. At the invitation of the Dominican Republic’s dictator, Trujillo, Jews were settled in Sosua where they founded a once-thriving agricultural community. What has happened to the material culture that these forced migrants created and what does it say about the relationships of globalization, human rights abuse, and landscape erasure? This question is posed and a possible research agenda pertaining to it is proposed.
This paper presents a history and comparative analysis of the political geography of Knoxville, T... more This paper presents a history and comparative analysis of the political geography of Knoxville, TN over the past 25 years. It notes a shift within the city of Knoxville to a more deliberative style of democracy marked by pragmatic decision making and inclusive policies. In contradistinction, Knoxville’s twin municipality, Knox County, is presented as remnant political entity that still participates in partisan politics driven as much by state and national party political agendas as the needs of local municipalities. A brief history is offered and a discussion of possible avenues of change for machine politics dominated County, but also a set of strategic decisions that must be made in the future by the City of Knoxville in order to maintain its progressive politics and independence.
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