Jennifer DeMoss
Jennifer DeMoss received a BA in environmental studies from the University of Michigan in fall 2009. She is interested in botany, ethnoecology, indigenous rights, and the commoditization and pedagogy of the skills that were necessary for our ancestors to survive. Some of these interests led to her senior honor’s thesis, Wilderness Survival Education in America: Histories, Reflections, and Practical Applications Within the Modern Environmental Movement, with Rebecca Hardin as her advisor. This thesis project was an exploration of the origins, curriculum, and advertising of wilderness survival schools, as well as the thematic relevance of the schools in light of today's emphasis on environmental conservation. She participated in survival classes at Tom Brown Jr.’s Tracker School in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, as well as interviewing several other students, volunteers, and instructors. This encounter left her with a passion for buckskins and basketry, as well as a desire to understand the juxtaposition of modernity and antiquity that defined her survival school experience.
Her last semester at the University of Michigan found her to Costa Rica for a study abroad program with the Institute for Central American Development Studies. There Jen studied the influence of American foreign policy on Central American countries; sovereignty and conservation issues between villagers and “outsiders” who seek to exploit the same resources; and several other topics related to tropical ecology and social issues in Costa Rica. She spent a month living and learning with the Bribri in the village Yorkín, located in a government reserve near the Panamanian border. During her time with the Bribri she studied the use of plants for construction, medicine, food, and ritual, as well as the rhetoric and reality behind tropical forest conservation among the villagers. She found that, as in all other aspects of life, people’s words and actions do not always coincide.
In addition to acting as her advisor, Rebecca Hardin nominated Jen in 2009 for the Peter C. Mertz award for undergraduates who reflect both an enthusiasm for the outdoors and a zest for living. She received the Mertz award as well as the Ginsberg Service Award and the Graham Scholars Award, during her time at UM. Jen is currently looking for an internship related to botany or general conservation to round out her college experience. Please let her know if you hear of anything.
| Samples of Jennifer's work: |
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Wilderness Survival Education in America:
Histories, Reflections, and Practical Applications Within the Modern Environmental Movement |
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