Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Edidin, Aron

Keywords

Environmental Ethics, Animism, Ecophenomenology

Area of Concentration

General Studies

Abstract

In this thesis I explore David's Abram's Animism as a mode of relating to the other-than-human world, and aim to encourage its use as an environmental activist program. In the first portion, I introduce Animism through Abram's personal experience. After providing an experiential illustration of how one might develop Animism, I broaden the discussion to place Animism in the larger scope of environmental activism. I discuss the Deep Ecology Movement as one contemporary form of environmental activism that emphasizes individualized approaches within a structured framework. I also apply Naess' understanding of deep ecology and long-term activism to Animism. Analyzing the role Animism might play as an activist program, I compare the development and aims of Naess' notion of ecosophy to that of Animism. In the second portion of this thesis, I discuss the importance of subjective, or direct, experience as it applies to Animism. Drawing on Merleau-Ponty's ideas of shared experience (intersubjectivity), perception, reciprocity, and The Flesh, I explore the inner workings of Animism as a mode of relating to beings outside one's self through subjective experience. In addition to the written text, this thesis included a solo performance of a portion of the Stuart Saunders Smith trans-media composition, Transitions And Leaps (1990). The performance took place in a local outdoor space and aimed to engage the direct, sensory experience of both the performer and the audience in a subjective and intersubjective way. In the last section of the text I discuss performance development, performance reflections, and the use of similar process-pieces in environmental education and activism.

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