Folklore Theses and Dissertations

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Values, Ideologies, and the Emergent Tradition of Urban Chicken-Keeping in Eugene, Oregon
(University of Oregon, 2016-02-23) Lewis, Mical; Gilman, Lisa
This thesis examines the expressive culture of urban chicken-keepers in Eugene, Oregon in an attempt to explain why this practice has become so popular in recent years as well as to understand what role it plays in their lives. Data for this project were gathered using ethnographic fieldwork methods such as participant observation in “real life” and in social media outlets, semi-structured interviews with participants encountered at The Eugene Backyard Farmer, and a 54-question anonymous online survey of people who frequented the shop’s social media outlets. Based on an analysis of those data, this thesis contends that this group of people is using urban chicken-keeping as a way to intentionally reframe the future in a more positive light and that this can be seen in the articulation of their values and ideologies and through the way that they are traditionalizing urban chicken-keeping.