Abstract
Think for a moment of what National Parks would make the top ten most visited list in the United States. The Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, Smokey Mountains, Zion, Grand Canyon or Joshua Tree National Parks probably come to mind. One park that might surprise you would be the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP). It is “the seventh most visited National Park” in the United States (National Park Service 2023). The seemingly underrated persona of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, only forty-five minutes away from the College of Wooster, has much to offer. In my study, I take a closer look at this unique National Park that is found in-between the urban cities of Akron and Cleveland, Ohio. Data was gathered through an ethnographic research approach using formal interviews over two-months from December 2022 to January 2023. A total of eleven participants working as Cuyahoga Valley National Park as park rangers were interviewed. This included both interpretive and law enforcement rangers. The participants either interviewed in-person or virtually through the Microsoft Teams platform. The purpose of my ethnographic research project seeks to learn about the role the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Rangers play for park visitors and what drew them to become a park ranger. Three major themes came out of my study. The first included the role and interpretation of how Nature viewed in the CVNP Annette Kolodny’s theoretical framework. The second major theme relates to the Forms of Capital of what spurred my interviewees becoming a National Park Ranger. The last theme is the cultural awareness of the racial disparities the CVNP addresses and programs to engaged previously excluded communities.
Advisor
Frese, Pamela
Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Recommended Citation
Kushner Benson, Abby, "Becoming a National Park Ranger: An Ethnographic Research Study Examining How Rangers From the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Conceptualize Their Role in Nature and the Park’s Preservation for Visitors" (2023). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 10624.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/10624
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social and Cultural Anthropology
Keywords
National Parks, National Park Rangers, Cuyahoga Valley, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Anthropology, Ethnographic Research, Nature, Culture, Forms of Capital, Formal Interviews
Publication Date
2023
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2023 Abby Kushner Benson