The purpose of this research is to employ geospatial techniques to understand the spatial aspects of Cracker culture lifeways in the Ocala National Forest. My case study is drawn from two seasons of fieldwork and supporting desktop surveys associated with Pat’s Island, the home of multiple Cracker families. Cracker culture is historically categorized by its efforts to avoid modernization and prevent the commercialization of traditional lifeways in the quickly shifting society of late-19th and early 20th century Florida (Nelson 2022). The geospatial expressions of these Cracker values are an emphasis on semi-remote living, adaptations to a unique environmental context, and the development of a semi-self-sufficient community.
This research will explore the ways the space of a Cracker community is representative of those values. As such, this research will use a spatial perspective to understand how space is created and performed by those who inhabit it. Furthermore, Pat’s Island has received relatively little attention. This research thus hopes to begin the process of creating a foundation by which the history of Florida homesteaders can be contextualized and understood. Using a spatial approach, the space which homesteaders inhabited, altered, and experienced can be understood. Furthermore, this research will explore the efficacy of a digital anthropological approach to the analysis and exploration of anthropological questions.
This research also helps to facilitate future fruitful explorations of Cracker culture within the Ocala National Forest by updating Florida Master Site File documentation to ensure the maintenance and reliability of datasets.
Outline of Studies:
Major: Anthropology
Educational Career:
B.A., 2017, University of Central Florida
Committee in Charge:
Dr. Edward Gonzalez-Tennant
Dr. Scott Branting
Dr. Tiffany Earley-Spadoni
Approved for distribution by Dr. Edward Gonzalez-Tennant, Committee Chair, on March 22nd, 2023.
The public is welcome to attend.
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