Reading forests: Contested ideologies and forest use in British Columbia.

This thesis examines the interconnection between existence, culture, and ecology. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, I tie together anthropological discussions of culture, French philosophy, and forestry with locally inspired narratives. Specifically, I examine Brian Fawcett's Virtual Clearcut: The Way Things Are In My Hometown and Des Kennedy's The Garden Club and the Kumquot Campaign, a 'testimonial documentary' and a novel respectively. Both narratives illustrate local connections, histories, interpretations, and contentions concerning forest use through a central theme of logging. The narratives reflect the Romantic literary tradition of the pastoral, while focusing on ecocentric considerations. Overall, by drawing from Felix Guattari's ecosophy I avoid favouring anthropocentric or biocentric tendencies, thus acknowledging the importance of the role of subjectivity and multiplicity in ecological debates, which allows me to conclude that debates concerning forest use can no longer be polarized.