Date of Award
1-1-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in Anthropology
First Advisor
Simone Delerme
Second Advisor
Marcos Mendoza
Third Advisor
Kate Centellas
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
This thesis discusses the topic of harvesting wild game or “being a hunter” and the culture surrounding this practice and how it is personified. The terms “outdoorsman,” “game harvesting,” "hunter " and several others were used universally to describe those who take part in such practices being researched in this thesis despite the person's gender. The following research will include how culture surrounding the life of an outdoorsman plays an impactful role on the socio environmental, economic, cultural, historical, and even economic aspects of Mississippi and the surrounding Deep South. A close look will be taken on what it means to be a hunter and a conservationist and just how closely those two fields intertwine. This research was conducted through examining past research on this topic, historical analysis, influences of consumerism, the use of cultural and social theories, personal statements/reflections, and ethnographic data collection.
The research argues that Southern outdoorsmen exist within a culturally significant world that plays a key role in their lives and social structures. This ethnographic study explores the shifting social world of hunting in terms of the experiences, values, and perceptions of hunters. It analyzes this along four key dimensions: 1) the history of hunting; 2) learning, and the acquisition of hunting skills (cultural/social capital), and formation of social hierarchies; 3) the distinctive ways in which consumerism and economic capital has affected outdoorsmanship despite drastic shifts and changes 4) biophilia and conservation values; and 5) the formation of outdoorsmanship and its unique cultural aspects.
As an active participant in the field of harvesting game I must admit before this research begins and continues that this research will most likely come from a place of experience and self-reflection due to my own experiences growing up as an outdoorsman.
Recommended Citation
Verdun, Kolbe, "Outdoorsman Culture in the Deep South: Understanding Cultural Capital and Social Capital Formation" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2892.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2892