Alex Korsunsky | South Seattle College (original) (raw)
Journal articles by Alex Korsunsky
Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies , 2020
Analyzing the Chicana/o student movement at the University of Washington (UW) from 1968 to 1975, ... more Analyzing the Chicana/o student movement at the University of Washington (UW) from 1968 to 1975, this essay argues that affirmative action deserves greater recognition as a catalyst of the Chicana/o movement and that this theme can be productively explored in settings beyond the US Southwest. Beginning with an account of the origins of a student-driven affirmative action program at UW, I trace its effects in the recruitment of farmworker youth from eastern Washington to enroll at the university, their politicization as supporters of the United Farm Workers grape boycott, and their rapid emergence as leaders of the Movimiento in Washington State. In claiming their right to the campus, Chicana/o students sought affirmative action not merely in student and faculty recruitment, but in the transformation of the university to promote social justice in their communities. Through their activism, which linked campus issues to farmworker struggles and to the wider Movimiento, students developed a newly politicized understanding of their Chicana/o identity, which in turn served as the basis for continued organizing and social justice demands.
Western Historical Quarterly, 2020
Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projec... more Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projection of impartial authority, they function to extend a discourse of natural bounty in which agricultural abundance is linked to inherent characteristics of the land, hiding the role of racialized and disenfranchised laborers in production. Using a combination of Agricultural Census data, historical and contemporary records from farmers and agricultural extension services, and GIS software, I demonstrate a method for reconstructing historical and contemporary agricultural labor landscapes, filling in—at least partially—the spatial absence of farmworkers. Using maps I have produced for a limited set of crops as a case study, alongside worker testimonies and ethnographic accounts, I argue that this sort of counter-mapping of the agricultural landscape can form the basis for an alternative spatial narrative of changing landscapes, replacing the depopulated and bountiful nature of conventional agricultural atlases with maps that reveal the agricultural landscape from a worker’s perspective that centers the hidden the toil and suffering entailed in the creation of Oregon’s agricultural bounty.
Culture, Agriculture, Food, and Environment, 2020
Immigrants—especially those from farmworker or campesino backgrounds—have gained attention as pro... more Immigrants—especially those from farmworker or campesino backgrounds—have gained attention as promising recruits for a new generation of sustainable farmers. Nonprofits promoting this aspirational vision of food justice link sustainability to empowered workers and communities of color, and to the preservation or revival of (agri)cultural traditions. I present findings from ongoing research showing that Oregon nonprofit food sovereignty initiatives training Mexican immigrant farmers have achieved successes as cultural, community building, and educational programs, but have struggled to produce viable farm businesses. I contrast these farmers with the less ecologically oriented and less self-consciously “cultural” immigrant farmers who work without organizational support in the same region, and who find an aspirational agrarian good life in more conventional agricultural practices. I argue that activist and academic formulations of food sovereignty linking peasant heritage, sustainability, labor rights, and immigration justice may lead scholars to overstate immigrant farmers’ actual propensity for "alternative" agriculture and ignore those immigrant farmers who fail to conform to this ideal.
Journal of Political Ecology , 2019
While vacant land in cities has long been considered a sign of decline, a growing literature now ... more While vacant land in cities has long been considered a sign of decline, a growing literature now suggests that such land can serve valuable social and ecological functions. In this article, I argue that such approaches advocated to date, while beneficial, operate within a New Urbanist framework that is essentially concerned with filling in vacant land with new 'green' projects. Unfortunately, such approaches are limited by a conceptualization of the city that treats inner city vacant lots as paradigmatic and makes invisible the systematic creation of functionally vacant land through zoning and building practices in low-density residential areas. Inspired by degrowth scholarship, I suggest that permaculture may provide the basis for an alternative approach based in the concept of fallowing more suited to the full range of vacant land present in American cities and suburbs. I explore the implications of such an approach through the practice of two permaculture-inspired intentional communities in the Pacific Northwest.
Bien que les terrains vacants dans les villes aient longtemps été considérés comme un signe de déclin, des études scientifiques suggèrent que ces terrains peuvent remplir des fonctions sociales et écologiques précieuses. Dans cet article, je soutiens que les approches préconisées à ce jour, bien que bénéfiques, s'inscrivent dans un nouveau cadre urbaniste (New Urbanist framework), qui consiste essentiellement à combler les terrains vacants par de nouveaux projets «verts». Malheureusement, ces approches sont limitées par une conceptualisation de la ville qui traite les terrains vacants du centre-ville comme un paradigme et ignore la création systématique de terrains vacants au moyen de pratiques de zonage et de construction dans des zones résidentielles à faible densité. Inspiré par la recherche sur la décroissance, je suggère que la permaculture pourrait servir de base à une approche alternative basée sur le concept de jachère plus adapté à la gamme complète de terrains vacants présents dans les villes et les banlieues américaines. J'explore les implications d'une telle approche à travers la pratique de deux communautés intentionnelles inspirées par la permaculture dans le nord-ouest du Pacifique.
Aunque las tierras vacantes en la ciudad han sido consideradas una indicación de declino, una nueva literatura sugiere que estas tierras puedan servir funciones sociales y ecológicas valorables. En este artículo, propongo que, a pesar de los beneficios de estas estrategias, operan dentro de una perspectiva de Nuevo Urbanismo que está enfocada en llenar tierras vacantes con nuevos proyectos 'verdes'. Desafortunadamente, están limitadas por una conceptualización de la ciudad que trata con los centros de las ciudades como un paradigma, y hace invisible la creación sistemática de tierras efectivamente vacantes por medio de zonación y prácticas de construcción en áreas residenciales de densidades bajas. Inspirado por la escolaridad sobre decrecimiento, sugiero que la permacultura pueda ofrecer la fundación por un abordo alternativo basado en el concepto del barbecho más 283 apropiado a la variedad de tierras vacantes en ciudades y suburbios estadounidenses. Exploro las implicaciones de este abordo por las prácticas de dos comunidades intencionales inspiradas por la permacultura en la región noroeste de los EE.UU.
Papers by Alex Korsunsky
Western Historical Quarterly, 2020
Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projec... more Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projection of impartial authority, they function to extend a discourse of natural bounty in which agricultural abundance is linked to inherent characteristics of the land, hiding the role of racialized and disenfranchised laborers in production. Using a combination of Agricultural Census data, historical and contemporary records from farmers and agricultural extension services, and GIS software, I demonstrate a method for reconstructing historical and contemporary agricultural labor landscapes, filling in—at least partially—the spatial absence of farmworkers. Using maps I have produced for a limited set of crops as a case study, alongside worker testimonies and ethnographic accounts, I argue that this sort of counter-mapping of the agricultural landscape can form the basis for an alternative spatial narrative of changing landscapes, replacing the depopulated and bountiful nature of conventional agricultural atlases with maps that reveal the agricultural landscape from a worker’s perspective that centers the hidden the toil and suffering entailed in the creation of Oregon’s agricultural bounty.
Journal of Political Ecology, Jan 4, 2019
Environmental History, Apr 1, 2021
Dissertation - Vanderbilt University, 2023
Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, I examine how Mexican i... more Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, I examine how Mexican immigrants—primarily current and former farmworkers—attempt to create a good life in agriculture by founding their own farm businesses. Former farmworkers’ agricultural projects are more varied than generally recognized, ranging from radical rejections of the conventional system to its enthusiastic replication. Except where nonprofits intervene to provide an alternative set of practices and the resources with which to implement them, longtime farmworkers tend to replicate the systems they knew as workers. These findings complicate food justice claims by emphasizing the importance of labor as a site of positive learning, and by demonstrating that values and preferences originating in a shared set of cultural and hometown experiences—and the aspirations that derive from them—inspire a wide range of practices as structurally constrained immigrant farmers seek to navigate a challenging agricultural economy.
Western Historical Quarterly, 2020
Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projec... more Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projection of impartial authority, they function to extend a discourse of natural bounty in which agricultural abundance is linked to inherent characteristics of the land, hiding the role of racialized and disenfranchised laborers in production. Using a combination of Agricultural Census data, historical and contemporary records from farmers and agricultural extension services, and GIS software, I demonstrate a method for reconstructing historical and contemporary agricultural labor landscapes, filling in—at least partially—the spatial absence of farmworkers. Using maps I have produced for a limited set of crops as a case study, alongside worker testimonies and ethnographic accounts, I argue that this sort of counter-mapping of the agricultural landscape can form the basis for an alternative spatial narrative of changing landscapes, replacing the depopulated and bountiful nature of conventiona...
Journal of Political Ecology, 2019
While vacant land in cities has long been considered a sign of decline, a growing literature now ... more While vacant land in cities has long been considered a sign of decline, a growing literature now suggests that such land can serve valuable social and ecological functions. In this article, I argue that such approaches advocated to date, while beneficial, operate within a New Urbanist framework that is essentially concerned with filling in vacant land with new 'green' projects. Unfortunately, such approaches are limited by a conceptualization of the city that treats inner city vacant lots as paradigmatic and makes invisible the systematic creation of functionally vacant land through zoning and building practices in low-density residential areas. Inspired by degrowth scholarship, I suggest that permaculture may provide the basis for an alternative approach based in the concept of fallowing more suited to the full range of vacant land present in American cities and suburbs. I explore the implications of such an approach through the practice of two permaculture-inspired intenti...
Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment
Immigrants—especially those from farmworker or campesino backgrounds—have gained attention as pro... more Immigrants—especially those from farmworker or campesino backgrounds—have gained attention as promising recruits for a new generation of sustainable farmers. Nonprofits promoting this aspirational vision of food justice link sustainability to empowered workers and communities of color, and to the preservation or revival of (agri)cultural traditions. I present findings from ongoing research showing that Oregon nonprofit food sovereignty initiatives training Mexican immigrant farmers have achieved successes as cultural, community building, and educational programs, but have struggled to produce viable farm businesses. I contrast these farmers with the less ecologically oriented and less self-consciously “cultural” immigrant farmers who work without organizational support in the same region, and who find an aspirational agrarian good life in more conventional agricultural practices. I argue that activist and academic formulations of food sovereignty linking peasant heritage, sustainability, labor rights, and immigration justice may lead scholars to overstate immigrant farmers’ actual propensity for "alternative" agriculture and ignore those immigrant farmers who fail to conform to this ideal.
Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies , 2020
Analyzing the Chicana/o student movement at the University of Washington (UW) from 1968 to 1975, ... more Analyzing the Chicana/o student movement at the University of Washington (UW) from 1968 to 1975, this essay argues that affirmative action deserves greater recognition as a catalyst of the Chicana/o movement and that this theme can be productively explored in settings beyond the US Southwest. Beginning with an account of the origins of a student-driven affirmative action program at UW, I trace its effects in the recruitment of farmworker youth from eastern Washington to enroll at the university, their politicization as supporters of the United Farm Workers grape boycott, and their rapid emergence as leaders of the Movimiento in Washington State. In claiming their right to the campus, Chicana/o students sought affirmative action not merely in student and faculty recruitment, but in the transformation of the university to promote social justice in their communities. Through their activism, which linked campus issues to farmworker struggles and to the wider Movimiento, students developed a newly politicized understanding of their Chicana/o identity, which in turn served as the basis for continued organizing and social justice demands.
Western Historical Quarterly, 2020
Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projec... more Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projection of impartial authority, they function to extend a discourse of natural bounty in which agricultural abundance is linked to inherent characteristics of the land, hiding the role of racialized and disenfranchised laborers in production. Using a combination of Agricultural Census data, historical and contemporary records from farmers and agricultural extension services, and GIS software, I demonstrate a method for reconstructing historical and contemporary agricultural labor landscapes, filling in—at least partially—the spatial absence of farmworkers. Using maps I have produced for a limited set of crops as a case study, alongside worker testimonies and ethnographic accounts, I argue that this sort of counter-mapping of the agricultural landscape can form the basis for an alternative spatial narrative of changing landscapes, replacing the depopulated and bountiful nature of conventional agricultural atlases with maps that reveal the agricultural landscape from a worker’s perspective that centers the hidden the toil and suffering entailed in the creation of Oregon’s agricultural bounty.
Culture, Agriculture, Food, and Environment, 2020
Immigrants—especially those from farmworker or campesino backgrounds—have gained attention as pro... more Immigrants—especially those from farmworker or campesino backgrounds—have gained attention as promising recruits for a new generation of sustainable farmers. Nonprofits promoting this aspirational vision of food justice link sustainability to empowered workers and communities of color, and to the preservation or revival of (agri)cultural traditions. I present findings from ongoing research showing that Oregon nonprofit food sovereignty initiatives training Mexican immigrant farmers have achieved successes as cultural, community building, and educational programs, but have struggled to produce viable farm businesses. I contrast these farmers with the less ecologically oriented and less self-consciously “cultural” immigrant farmers who work without organizational support in the same region, and who find an aspirational agrarian good life in more conventional agricultural practices. I argue that activist and academic formulations of food sovereignty linking peasant heritage, sustainability, labor rights, and immigration justice may lead scholars to overstate immigrant farmers’ actual propensity for "alternative" agriculture and ignore those immigrant farmers who fail to conform to this ideal.
Journal of Political Ecology , 2019
While vacant land in cities has long been considered a sign of decline, a growing literature now ... more While vacant land in cities has long been considered a sign of decline, a growing literature now suggests that such land can serve valuable social and ecological functions. In this article, I argue that such approaches advocated to date, while beneficial, operate within a New Urbanist framework that is essentially concerned with filling in vacant land with new 'green' projects. Unfortunately, such approaches are limited by a conceptualization of the city that treats inner city vacant lots as paradigmatic and makes invisible the systematic creation of functionally vacant land through zoning and building practices in low-density residential areas. Inspired by degrowth scholarship, I suggest that permaculture may provide the basis for an alternative approach based in the concept of fallowing more suited to the full range of vacant land present in American cities and suburbs. I explore the implications of such an approach through the practice of two permaculture-inspired intentional communities in the Pacific Northwest.
Bien que les terrains vacants dans les villes aient longtemps été considérés comme un signe de déclin, des études scientifiques suggèrent que ces terrains peuvent remplir des fonctions sociales et écologiques précieuses. Dans cet article, je soutiens que les approches préconisées à ce jour, bien que bénéfiques, s'inscrivent dans un nouveau cadre urbaniste (New Urbanist framework), qui consiste essentiellement à combler les terrains vacants par de nouveaux projets «verts». Malheureusement, ces approches sont limitées par une conceptualisation de la ville qui traite les terrains vacants du centre-ville comme un paradigme et ignore la création systématique de terrains vacants au moyen de pratiques de zonage et de construction dans des zones résidentielles à faible densité. Inspiré par la recherche sur la décroissance, je suggère que la permaculture pourrait servir de base à une approche alternative basée sur le concept de jachère plus adapté à la gamme complète de terrains vacants présents dans les villes et les banlieues américaines. J'explore les implications d'une telle approche à travers la pratique de deux communautés intentionnelles inspirées par la permaculture dans le nord-ouest du Pacifique.
Aunque las tierras vacantes en la ciudad han sido consideradas una indicación de declino, una nueva literatura sugiere que estas tierras puedan servir funciones sociales y ecológicas valorables. En este artículo, propongo que, a pesar de los beneficios de estas estrategias, operan dentro de una perspectiva de Nuevo Urbanismo que está enfocada en llenar tierras vacantes con nuevos proyectos 'verdes'. Desafortunadamente, están limitadas por una conceptualización de la ciudad que trata con los centros de las ciudades como un paradigma, y hace invisible la creación sistemática de tierras efectivamente vacantes por medio de zonación y prácticas de construcción en áreas residenciales de densidades bajas. Inspirado por la escolaridad sobre decrecimiento, sugiero que la permacultura pueda ofrecer la fundación por un abordo alternativo basado en el concepto del barbecho más 283 apropiado a la variedad de tierras vacantes en ciudades y suburbios estadounidenses. Exploro las implicaciones de este abordo por las prácticas de dos comunidades intencionales inspiradas por la permacultura en la región noroeste de los EE.UU.
Western Historical Quarterly, 2020
Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projec... more Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projection of impartial authority, they function to extend a discourse of natural bounty in which agricultural abundance is linked to inherent characteristics of the land, hiding the role of racialized and disenfranchised laborers in production. Using a combination of Agricultural Census data, historical and contemporary records from farmers and agricultural extension services, and GIS software, I demonstrate a method for reconstructing historical and contemporary agricultural labor landscapes, filling in—at least partially—the spatial absence of farmworkers. Using maps I have produced for a limited set of crops as a case study, alongside worker testimonies and ethnographic accounts, I argue that this sort of counter-mapping of the agricultural landscape can form the basis for an alternative spatial narrative of changing landscapes, replacing the depopulated and bountiful nature of conventional agricultural atlases with maps that reveal the agricultural landscape from a worker’s perspective that centers the hidden the toil and suffering entailed in the creation of Oregon’s agricultural bounty.
Journal of Political Ecology, Jan 4, 2019
Environmental History, Apr 1, 2021
Dissertation - Vanderbilt University, 2023
Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, I examine how Mexican i... more Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, I examine how Mexican immigrants—primarily current and former farmworkers—attempt to create a good life in agriculture by founding their own farm businesses. Former farmworkers’ agricultural projects are more varied than generally recognized, ranging from radical rejections of the conventional system to its enthusiastic replication. Except where nonprofits intervene to provide an alternative set of practices and the resources with which to implement them, longtime farmworkers tend to replicate the systems they knew as workers. These findings complicate food justice claims by emphasizing the importance of labor as a site of positive learning, and by demonstrating that values and preferences originating in a shared set of cultural and hometown experiences—and the aspirations that derive from them—inspire a wide range of practices as structurally constrained immigrant farmers seek to navigate a challenging agricultural economy.
Western Historical Quarterly, 2020
Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projec... more Analyzing Oregon agricultural atlases from 1878 to 1958, I show that, despite these texts’ projection of impartial authority, they function to extend a discourse of natural bounty in which agricultural abundance is linked to inherent characteristics of the land, hiding the role of racialized and disenfranchised laborers in production. Using a combination of Agricultural Census data, historical and contemporary records from farmers and agricultural extension services, and GIS software, I demonstrate a method for reconstructing historical and contemporary agricultural labor landscapes, filling in—at least partially—the spatial absence of farmworkers. Using maps I have produced for a limited set of crops as a case study, alongside worker testimonies and ethnographic accounts, I argue that this sort of counter-mapping of the agricultural landscape can form the basis for an alternative spatial narrative of changing landscapes, replacing the depopulated and bountiful nature of conventiona...
Journal of Political Ecology, 2019
While vacant land in cities has long been considered a sign of decline, a growing literature now ... more While vacant land in cities has long been considered a sign of decline, a growing literature now suggests that such land can serve valuable social and ecological functions. In this article, I argue that such approaches advocated to date, while beneficial, operate within a New Urbanist framework that is essentially concerned with filling in vacant land with new 'green' projects. Unfortunately, such approaches are limited by a conceptualization of the city that treats inner city vacant lots as paradigmatic and makes invisible the systematic creation of functionally vacant land through zoning and building practices in low-density residential areas. Inspired by degrowth scholarship, I suggest that permaculture may provide the basis for an alternative approach based in the concept of fallowing more suited to the full range of vacant land present in American cities and suburbs. I explore the implications of such an approach through the practice of two permaculture-inspired intenti...
Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment
Immigrants—especially those from farmworker or campesino backgrounds—have gained attention as pro... more Immigrants—especially those from farmworker or campesino backgrounds—have gained attention as promising recruits for a new generation of sustainable farmers. Nonprofits promoting this aspirational vision of food justice link sustainability to empowered workers and communities of color, and to the preservation or revival of (agri)cultural traditions. I present findings from ongoing research showing that Oregon nonprofit food sovereignty initiatives training Mexican immigrant farmers have achieved successes as cultural, community building, and educational programs, but have struggled to produce viable farm businesses. I contrast these farmers with the less ecologically oriented and less self-consciously “cultural” immigrant farmers who work without organizational support in the same region, and who find an aspirational agrarian good life in more conventional agricultural practices. I argue that activist and academic formulations of food sovereignty linking peasant heritage, sustainability, labor rights, and immigration justice may lead scholars to overstate immigrant farmers’ actual propensity for "alternative" agriculture and ignore those immigrant farmers who fail to conform to this ideal.