Christopher Fowler, who received a master’s degree in folklore this spring from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has taken several writing and photography courses at CDS over the last two years. Having grown up in rural eastern North Carolina, an area heavily impacted by industrial agriculture, Chris’ master’s thesis was an ethnographic study of one eastern North Carolina farmer who is moving toward a more traditional agriculture, that is to say a type of agriculture that is more responsible, equitable, and sustainable.
Due to the quality and depth of his work, Chris was invited to be a teaching assistant for Lehman Brady professor Mike Wiley and CDS director Tom Rankin. Chris will travel to Boston to work with The Food Project, an organization that engages young people in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture. Chris says, “Most of my work thus far has focused on rural and southern issues. The Hine fellowship offers me the opportunity to test the waters of a northeastern, urban environment. I believe that being pushed out of one’s comfort zone is imperative for intellectual and creative growth.”
For more about Chris’s fellowship, visit:
http://documentarystudies.duke.edu/projects/hine/gallery/chris-fowler
