Thesis
From outlaw to athlete - Emic perceptions on the human - horse relationship in American rodeo
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
05/2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000000066
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/119090
Abstract
Through an ethnographic study of bronc riding, this thesis centers on human-horse relationships
in American rodeo as a case-study for human perceptions of animals with which they share a
specific cultural environment. It examines the interspecies connection between bucking horses
and the people whose livelihood depends on the animals’ performance and wellbeing. In the past,
bucking horses were perceived as the outlaws of the equine domain, because they defied the
subordinate position of animals in the Western settler mindset. However, today’s bucking horse
is the result of systematic breeding, which correlates with to a significant change in how rodeo
associates perceive these challenging animals.
Through systematic observation, informal and semi-structured interviews, and responses to a
self-administered online interview, 81 self-identified rodeo associates (participants and fans)
from the Western United States were questioned about their relationship with rodeo horses. The
study draws perspectives from cognitive anthropology, anthrozoology, and human-animal relation studies, and comes to find that rodeo’s shift in animal procurement created a means for
the animals to reposition themselves in the human cultural construction of rodeo.
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Details
- Title
- From outlaw to athlete - Emic perceptions on the human - horse relationship in American rodeo
- Creators
- Evelien Deelen
- Contributors
- MARSHA BOGAR QUINLAN (Degree Supervisor) - Washington State University, Anthropology, Department ofROBERT JOSEPH QUINLAN (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Anthropology, Department ofPATRICIA PENDRY (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Human Development, Department of
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Format
- pdf
- Number of pages
- 128
- Identifiers
- 99900590461101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis