Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item American crops for American people: statist agriculture, race, and environment on the Northern Plains(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Chang, Micah TianFong; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mark FiegeMy dissertation, "American Crops for American People: Statist Agriculture, Race, and Environment on the Northern Great Plains," argues that U.S. federal agronomy and standardized field crop agriculture driven by larger and larger corporate farms eliminated a diversity of ethno-agricultural practices and, ultimately, communities of Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican farmers. During the 20th century, the region was developed to produce massive staple surpluses, accumulate capital, and cement federal and corporate power in this extractive hinterland. Using documents from federal and local agricultural archives, I argue that the USDA and its corresponding outreach organization, the Cooperative Extension Service, defined the archetypal "American" farmer and simultaneously homogenized white European immigrants into American patriots, while ostracizing communities of color that fell outside this definition. Wheat and sugar beets represented an imagined and whitened national agrarian identity on the northern grasslands. While regional case studies on the intersection of agriculture and race exist, my work is the first to posit the consequences of USDA and land grant college agronomic practice as a reason for ethnic and racial homogenization in this part of the country. This scholarship is increasingly important as global agriculture must change and adapt to a warming world. It is my contention that these solutions must at the same time also address the sustainability of diverse peoples and communities that have deep connections to places and lands. If the standardization of crops relied on the homogenization of farmers and agricultural communities, then a more sustainable future must also include peoples that have been left out of myth of rural essentialism in America. I argue that understanding the pivotal moments of American agriculture in the 20th century could point us to a more equitable, diverse, and sustainable future. To accomplish this, I look to the genesis of wheat and sugar beet agronomic and agricultural systems on the Northern Great Plains and their environmental and social development in the late 19th and 20th centuries. My reconceptualization of agricultural history challenges the ideological foundation of a white American heartland mythology, instead revealing that agriculture in this country has always relied on multiethnic bodies and families.Item Manifest Americans: the modern-day appropriation of the agrarian myth(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Robinson, Tonya Renee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Susan KollinIn 'Manifest Americans,' I examine the modern-day appropriation of the agrarian myth under neoliberalism and associated sheltering of systemic marginalization and health and environmental hazards. I argue persistent agrarianism rhetoric, perverted by neoliberal realities and devices, lies at the core of these problems. Specific to this neoliberal moment, my conception of neoyeomanship encapsulates the embrace of classic yeomanship dogma and modern neoliberal doctrine towards the realization of Manifest Americans as idealized persons(products) of the agrarian myth--created in the minds of republican agrarians, propelled forward by Manifest Destiny, and consolidated through white settlement and cultivation of stolen Native lands. Manifest Americans believe themselves the backbone of American society and the embodiment of democracy. Neoyeomen as Manifest Americans are the neoliberal reification of the nation's most American Americans. This project also presents a new framework for analyzing the neoliberalization of American society and culture, with emphasis on impacts to agrarian(rural) people and spaces. Specifically, I explore neoliberal cultural production through cultural products which work to either appease or disrupt the agrarian metanarrative in modern society. To accomplish this, I bring together cultural studies and ecocritical approaches as methodology for cultural criticism, with additional consideration of affect theory and nostalgia criticism to read the agrarian myth in this neoliberal age. I also introduce my concept of perverse nostalgia. Perverse nostalgia explains how simple nostalgia, which normally works to mitigate disruptions in meeting core human needs, becomes perverted by neoliberal realities, which in turn creates discontinuity and exacerbates existential fears, resultantly triggering perverse nostalgia for an idealized(mythical) past--an America made great again. 'Manifest Americans' also expands myth criticism. Their overt exceptionalist associations notwithstanding, enduring American myths play a crucial role in projecting, informing, and affirming dominant modern-day ideologies and identity(ies). Far from being mired in history, American myths are well-evidenced in modern society and help us to understand and explain the nation's complex ideologies and longings for an idealized(mythical) past. This is particularly true concerning the agrarian myth, which has largely evaded criticism and condemnation. The agrarian myth is alive and well in neoliberal America--and hides a multitude of sins.Item The agricultural awareness of Montana's elected legislators(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1996) Wearley, Milford LouisThe purpose of this study was to assess the level of agricultural knowledge and perceptions of those elected officials who served in Montana’s 54th legislative session in 1995. Members of the House of Representatives and members of the Senate serving in Montana’s 54th legislative session were the population for this study. Data for this study were gathered through a survey mailed to all members of the House of Representatives and the Senate who served in 1995. Of the 150 survey instrument mailed out, 90 usable surveys were sent back for a 60% return rate. Data were collected in three sections: (1) agricultural knowledge true/false statements, (2) agriculture perception statements, and (3) demographic information of legislators. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-tests were used in statistical analysis of the data. Conclusions drawn from the data were (1) 44% of Montana’s elected officials scored higher than 90% on the seven knowledge concept areas of agriculture, 42% scored between 80% and 89%, and 14% scored between 66% and 79%; (2) Montana’s elected officials who served in the legislature, on the average, have positive perceptions of the agriculture industry, with scores varying widely; (3) legislative leaders in Montana have strong positive perceptions about economic situations in production agriculture, animal agriculture, and natural resources/environment issues; (4) based on biotechnology questions and perception statements in the study, about one-fifth of Montana’s legislators did not have a full understanding about biotechnology and its contributions to the future of the agriculture industry; (5) legislators rely upon the newspaper media for a majority of their information about agriculture, which may not fully inform them; (6) legislators perceive education about agriculture in the future as more important than it is today. The data as analyzed indicated a need for better education for the general public about agriculture and agricultural issues. Support and encouragement must be provided to agencies of agricultural education in the future as they strive to maintain or increase public agricultural literacy.