Rites of Passage: Exposing Neoliberalism, Performing Self, and Acting Change

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2013-07

Department

Program

MA in Cultural Sustainability

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

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Abstract

This is not a normal ethnography in that its structure is as fluid as the group, Couchsurfing, studied. In trying to organize and communicate what was experienced through participant-observation, it is nearly impossible to separate and define all the social components that make up Couchsurfing. This, however, was a most propitious 1 mishap; in lieu of seeking particularities as a tool for separating groups, overarching social mechanisms were made apparent in the nuances that connected them (Wolford: 2010). This paper tries to communicate what a study of Couchsurfing has exposed: a relationship between the ideology of self, capitalism, and material origins (Marx: 1867).