Rainforest Cowboys

The Rise of Ranching and Cattle Culture in Western Amazonia

Jeffrey Hoelle (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

212 Seiten

2015
University of Texas Press (Verlag)
978-1-4773-1060-1 (ISBN)

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This ambitious interdisciplinary study is the first to examine the interlinked economic uses and cultural practices and beliefs surrounding cattle in Western Amazonia, where cattle raising is at the center of debates about economic development and environ

Winner, Brazil Section Book Award, Latin American Studies Association, 2016

The opening of the Amazon to colonization in the 1970s brought cattle, land conflict, and widespread deforestation. In the remote state of Acre, Brazil, rubber tappers fought against migrant ranchers to preserve the forest they relied on, and in the process, these “forest guardians” showed the world that it was possible to unite forest livelihoods and environmental preservation. Nowadays, many rubber tappers and their children are turning away from the forest-based lifestyle they once sought to protect and are becoming cattle-raisers or even caubois (cowboys). Rainforest Cowboys is the first book to examine the social and cultural forces driving the expansion of Amazonian cattle raising in all of their complexity.

Drawing on eighteen months of fieldwork, Jeffrey Hoelle shows how cattle raising is about much more than beef production or deforestation in Acre, even among “carnivorous” environmentalists, vilified ranchers, and urbanites with no land or cattle. He contextualizes the rise of ranching in relation to political economic structures and broader meanings to understand the spread of “cattle culture.” This cattle-centered vision of rural life builds on local experiences and influences from across the Americas and even resembles East African cultural practices. Written in a broadly accessible and interdisciplinary style, Rainforest Cowboys is essential reading for a global audience interested in understanding the economic and cultural features of cattle raising, deforestation, and the continuing tensions between conservation and development in the Amazon.

Jeffrey Hoelle is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

List of Illustrations

List of Tables

Acknowledgments

1. The Journey to Acre

2. The Expansion of Cattle Raising in Acre

3. Ruminations on Cattle Economies and Cattle Cultures

4. Ideologies of Nature and Human–Environment Interactions

5. The Ranchers: Smooth Hands, Progress, and Production

6. The City and the Contri

7. Here’s the Beef: Symbol, Sustenance, and Hamburger Connections

8. Rubber-Tapper and Colonist Transitions: Environment, Practice, and Identity

9. The Appropriation of Cattle Culture: Perceptions, Behaviors, and Methodological Considerations

10. The Full Picture

Appendix A. Social Groups and Research Area

Appendix B. Methods and Data

Appendix C. Levels of Agreement among Social Groups

Notes

Works Cited

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	05.02.2016
Reihe/Serie	Latin American and Caribbean Arts and Culture Publication Initiative, Mellon Foundation
Verlagsort	Austin, TX
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	254 g
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Geschichte / Politik ► Allgemeines / Lexika
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
	Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management
	Weitere Fachgebiete ► Land- / Forstwirtschaft / Fischerei
ISBN-10	1-4773-1060-6 / 1477310606
ISBN-13	978-1-4773-1060-1 / 9781477310601
Zustand	Neuware