East of the Tracks: Grassroots Environmentalism in South Mississippi

<p>Environmental justice literature challenges the disparity and oppression regarding the quality of life associated with residential environments among communities of color. Recent disasters, such as hurricane Katrina, the Tennessee coal sludge disaster (December 2008), and the BP Oil Spill (2010) have garnered visibility for environmental issues, particularly in the south. Nevertheless, the topic has largely been ignored in Mississippi among academia, many advocacy groups, and at the state level despite the emergence of several community based grassroots environmental groups throughout Mississippi in recent years. From Columbia, to Crystal Springs, to Hattiesburg, a coalition of environmental groups is forming with Hattiesburg at the center of the emergent movement. The success and longevity of the Forrest County Environmental Support team, in particular, led me to ask the following question: In terms of grassroots environmentalism, what techniques and strategies do community based groups in Hattiesburg use to mobilize and sustain collective action? This thesis provides a qualitative, applied ethnographic study carried out using a multi-theoretical approach informed by political ecology and frame analysis in order to explore grassroots environmentalism in south Mississippi.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Anthropology and Sociology

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• Sanchez, Heather Kay

Contributors dc:contributor

• James Kauffman
• Amy Miller
• James Flanagan

• Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Sociology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/549

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1624