Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Gill, A. Duane
Committee Member
Bartkowski, P. John
Committee Member
Cossman, S. Jeralynn
Committee Member
Rader, Nicole
Date of Degree
8-8-2009
Document Type
Dissertation - Open Access
Major
Sociology
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Department of Sociology
Abstract
A great deal of previous sociological research has examined the social contours of subcultures, focusing either on highly transient subcultures (e.g., among youth) or, conversely, stable institutionalized subcultures (e.g., among professionals). More recent scholarship has examined how leisure subcultures are formed and sustained around a particular interest or activity (e.g., windsurfing). However, little attention has been paid to the role of recreational settings (i.e., specific geographical locales) in the formation of leisure subcultures. Using the Appalachian Trail as a case study, I aim to fill that gap by examining a long-distance hiking subculture. I use ethnographic data collected from long-distance hikers on the Appalachian Trail to carry out the study. My investigation is guided by a subcultural perspective which allows me to identify and understand the sociality and social practices of a long-distance hiking subculture. Consequently, long-distance hikers can be identified and understood through (1) a negative relation to work, (2) a negative or ambivalent relation to class, (3) an association with territory, (4) non-domestic forms of belonging, (5) a range of excessive attributes, and (6) a refusal of the banalities of ordinary life. My qualitative analysis of long-distance hikers’ accounts and interactions permits me to explore how subcultural ideologies and practices are combined with a socially significant place to forge powerful emotional bonds among long-distance hikers and strong attachments to the Appalachian Trail.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11668/15553
Recommended Citation
Fondren, Kristi McLeod, "Walking on the wild side: an examination of a long-distance hiking subculture" (2009). Theses and Dissertations. 4975.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/4975