Doctoral Dissertation Research: An Anthropological Analysis of Agroecology, State Incentive Practices, and Sustainable Agriculture Initiatives

在北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校多萝西·霍兰德博士的指导下，贾斯汀·威廉姆斯将调查农业生态农业系统蓬勃发展的条件。虽然越来越多的政府和非政府组织认识到促进环境可持续农业的紧迫性，但当地农民在以这种方式耕作方面继续面临许多挑战，其中包括全球经济的力量。通过民族志调查和混合定性和定量分析，本研究考察了文化、政治和经济力量在塑造农业现实和农民观点方面的相互作用。通过深度访谈、固定答案调查和12个月的参与者参与，研究人员将探索一个地点的农业组织如何通过创建社区、集体学习经验和公众对成功的认可来促进社会和个人对生态农业的承诺。该项目旨在回答以下问题：什么样的农民最有可能对可持续农业做出持久的承诺？农业组织可以采取什么行动来增加这个数字？最后，农业组织如何创造“可持续农民”的身份？该研究将使用不同的农民群体，以及与他们互动的三个著名农业组织作为案例研究。该项目将社会理论和文化视角引入到一个通常以经济研究为主的研究领域。利用研究人员的学术和农业联系，它为具有全球重要性的问题提供了独特的国际见解。该项目为研究人员未来的本科生和研究生提供了国际学习机会。该研究人员还将利用她以前在公共传播方面的经验，向学术界以外的更广泛的人群（包括农业组织、决策者和普通公众）传播和清楚地解释研究结果。

Justine Williams, under the supervision of Dr. Dorothy Holland of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will investigate the conditions under which systems of agroecological farming can flourish. Although an increasing number of government and non-governmental organizations are recognizing the urgency of promoting environmentally sustainable agriculture, local farmers continue to face many challenges in farming this way, not the least of which includes the forces of the global economy. Through ethnographic investigation and mixed qualitative and quantitative analysis, this research examines the interaction of cultural, political and economic forces in shaping the realities of farming and the perspectives of farmers. Through in-depth interviews, fixed answer surveys, and 12 months of participant participation, the researcher will explore how agricultural organizations in one site attempt to promote social and individual commitments to agroecology through the creation of communities, collective learning experiences and public recognition of success. The project seeks to answer the questions: What kinds of farmers are most likely to develop enduring commitments to sustainable agriculture? What actions can agricultural organizations take to increase this number? And finally, how can agricultural organizations create "sustainable farmer" identities? The research will use the diverse set of farmers, and three prominent agriculture organizations that interact with them, as a case study. This project brings a social theory and cultural perspective to bear on a research field that is often dominated by economic studies. In taking advantage of the researcher's academic and agricultural contacts, it provides unique international insight into questions of global importance.The project sets the stage for international learning opportunities for the researcher's future undergraduate and graduate students. The researcher will also draw on her previous experience in public communications to disperse and clearly explain findings to a wider body of people outside of academia including agricultural organizations, policy makers and the general public.