Rites of Passage: Exposing Neoliberalism, Performing Self, and Acting Change
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Date
2013-07
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MA in Cultural Sustainability
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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).