CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Leidereiter, Carmen |
|---|---|
| Title | Autonomy As Self-Provisioning: Everyday Practices and Edible Revolutions in the Algarve, Portugal |
| Summary | Abstract This thesis interrogates the topology of provisioning of a small-scale, degrowth farming community in the Algarve Region, Portugal. Framed as a dissociation from capitalism and mainstream society, Casa do Burro’s stated aim is ‘autonomy as self-provisioning’ and the farm self-supplies vegetables, fruits and dairy products. Chapter 1 considers what drives residents to live this exterior by interrogating the will to autonomy. This will transpires as relationally necessitated in comparison with the alienation and repression of the ‘outside world’. Chapter 2 investigates the translation of this will into non-monetary provisioning practices – domestic production and the reliance on a social network. The production and sharing of food emerge as crucial as they constitute and reaffirm relations of solidarity and sociality. Chapter 3 considers the inevitable gap between autonomy as an ideal and the factual achievements by analysing the conflicts in monetary exchanges. By investigating what makes certain transgressions permissible, the self-legitimizing character of the autonomy ideology is uncovered and its lacing together of tensions extrapolated. Ideology is revealed as the cement that produces social equilibrium and the appearance of integrity. Despite many inconsistencies and contradictions, the conclusion reflects on the messy, contingent nature of the transition towards autonomy as largely successful and offers insights on the replicability and durability of this project’s approach in other localities. |
| Supervisor | Rajaram, Prem Kumar; Dafinger, Andreas |
| Department | Sociology MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/leidereiter_carmen.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University