Two movies directed and produced by UCA faculty and graduates were selected to be shown at the American University 7th Annual Public Anthropology Conference Film Festival held Oct. 16 and Oct. 17 in Washington D.C.
The Natural State of America was written and produced by Dr. Brian C. Campbell, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology. UCA graduates Terrell Case, Corey Matthew Gattin, and Timothy Lucas Wistrand, directed and edited the film.
Residents of the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas, the “Natural State,” have historically been at odds with public agencies for spraying herbicides in National Forests, and they are presently engaged in a battle with their rural electric cooperative over the same practices. This documentary employs applied anthropology, archival research, and diverse media to present the issue through the experiences and struggles of local people to protect their lands, waters, and families from biocides.
The documentary Seed Swap, directed and edited byZachariah McCannon and produced by Dr. Brian C. Campbell looks at the development of a seed exchange and agricultural biodiversity conservation project in the Ozark Mountains as an ethnographic lens to explore the seed saving subculture of the region. The film showcases the utility of applied anthropology to get the public involved in more localized food systems, presents a wide range of open-pollinated, heirloom seeds of the Ozarks, and teaches the steps necessary to establish a community seed bank and host seed swaps.