Date of Submission
Fall 2023
Academic Program
Sociology
Project Advisor 1
Peter Klein
Abstract/Artist's Statement
This paper analyzes both the ‘myth’ of the cowboy, as well as the real life experiences of one. Through the lenses of symbolic interactionism, naturework, and myth and meaning making, this paper looks into how cowboys see themselves in relation to the land and to nature. Drawing on insights from in person interviews and analysis of historic cowboy ballads, these concepts were defined through their personal experiences that became intertwined with their culturally linked identities. For cowboys, the concepts of 'land' and 'nature' not only represent words but also constitute lived realities that profoundly shape their self-perception.
Open Access Agreement
Open Access
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Danishmend, Isabel Piper, "Lessons From Cowboys and Nature's Narratives: Symbolic Interactionism and The Cowboy's Environmental Encounter" (2023). Senior Projects Fall 2023. 12.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_f2023/12
This work is protected by a Creative Commons license. Any use not permitted under that license is prohibited.
Included in
Community-Based Research Commons, Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, Regional Sociology Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons