At Cornell University, where international students comprise 26% of the student body and out-of-state students another 64%, there is a pressing need for courses that ground students in "place," connecting them to their local and regional environments. This sense of place is increasingly difficult to construct in a world where people are becoming more mobile. However, artmaking is a promising solution to this growing problem. Preliminary survey data suggests a relationship between place attachment and field experiences that engage the environmental humanities, particularly the environmental arts. This project relies on interview data to determine the paths through which Cornell undergraduates grow connected to rural upstate New York as part of Cornell EcoArts field courses.
The products of this project will include a series of interviews to be transcribed and coded, as well as a conference presentation. Additional funding will be allocated to eco-arts projects, all of which touch on topics related to rural upstate New York culture, history, and landscapes. The interviews will add necessary depth and nuance to quantitative survey results, while the conference presentation and eco-arts projects (to be exhibited) will help disseminate this work to a variety of audiences. Results of this project will be incorporated into Anna Mehlhorn's master's thesis in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment.
Collaborator:
Anna Mehlhorn, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment
