Date of Award
8-17-2013
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the social and cultural significance of the game of basketball in the community of Nenana, Alaska. Since the building of high school gymnasiums across rural Alaska in the mid-1970s, basketball has become a popular and socially significant activity in rural Alaskan communities. The dissertation focuses on the nature of the social relations that arise from playing basketball and related activities and the constitution of a social space within which these relations become meaningful. It argues that the sport is a metaphor for community cohesiveness and ultimately a reflection of the social and cultural construction of community itself. Moreover, basketball has an effect on the everyday life of a community by providing a symbolic stage, which reinforces community identity and a sense of belonging through the renegotiation of interpersonal relations, dissemination of cultural values, and storytelling.
Recommended Citation
Droulias, Andreas, "Social benefits and cultural consequences of basketball in Alaska" (2013). Anthropology . 3.
https://ualaska.researchcommons.org/uaf_grad_anth/3
Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/4516