Abstract

Colony collapse disorder, or the mysterious disappearance of worldwide honey bee populations, has upset the beekeeping community for the last six years. In this study, I use colony collapse disorder as a lens to better understand the beekeeping community’s attitudes towards the environment. This study consists of an analysis of nine interviews conducted with individuals involved in either beekeeping or pesticide regulation. I combine summaries of the pre-existing literature on colony collapse disorder along with several other environmental topics with the theoretical portion of this study to create a better conceptualization of concepts like risk society and eco-Marxism. These theories serve as the basis for the “results” chapter, in which I finally analyze the ideas expressed in the interviews. This study serves to not only better understand intricacies and attitudes of the beekeeping community, but to create a broad picture of the ways in which groups of people discuss an environmental function in peril.

Advisor

Mariola, Matthew

Department

Sociology and Anthropology; Environmental Studies

Disciplines

Other Sociology

Keywords

Beekeepers, colony collapse disorder, bees, pesticides, environmental sociology

Publication Date

2015

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2015 Margaret E. New