A Thousand Days in the Forest: An Ethnography of the Culture of Fungi
Date
2016
Authors
Pouliot, Alison
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Without fungi, life is radically diminished. Fungi regulate the
biosphere and support the earth’s ecological functioning. Yet
the exceptionally few mushrooms with the capacity to dismantle
human livers and kidneys have received disproportionate
attention. This thesis presents an account of human-fungus
relationships and how fungi are perceived and understood. It uses
fungi as a lens to reconfigure ways of thinking, not just about
fungi, but all nature, including Homo sapiens. It expands on the
dominant mycological narratives through which fungi are
represented, to create space for other forms of knowledge that
allow these marginalised organisms to emerge through the cracks
of human awareness and concern.
The research had a threefold aim: first, to understand why fungi
are regarded differently to other organisms. Second, to present a
more inclusive concept of fungi by proposing a shift in thinking
– from thinking of sporebodies as discrete entities, to
considering fungi as sophisticated relational systems relevant to
human lives. Third, I examined what is required to enable their
inclusion within what is valued; including within concepts of
nature, biodiversity and conservation. This means finding ways to
insert fungi into the ecological imagination and consciousness.
Through interactions with all sorts of ‘fungal folk,’ I
elucidated the differences between definitive and expansive
perceptions of nature and how the manifest indeterminacy of
fungal development highlights the need for broader perceptions
and an enhanced language. Fungus reproductive structures such as
mushrooms provide a tangible link to humanity. However, I argued
that mycelia provide a more imaginative and insightful way to
consider the bigger fungal picture. Mycelia provide a matrix of
interconnectivity with organisms and environments across multiple
temporal and spatial scales, underpinning ideas of interactions
and circulations explored throughout this thesis. I examined how
the plastic essentiality of mycelia – versatility, complexity,
heterogeneity, changeability, resilience, indeterminacy and
biological utility – offers a compelling and constructive
framework to contemplate the living world. The mycelial tangle
also provides metaphors for human societies; for connectivity,
spontaneity, unpredictability and ways to attune to the dynamism
of natural systems that move beyond ideas of balance and control.
The thesis is brought together through a collection of voices in
stories and anecdotes, histories and science, gleaned across
hemispheres and cultures. It comes alive particularly through
direct engagement with people and fungi in their habitats. It is
embedded in the sensorial as much as the philosophical; through
sensing fungi and their places during my thousand days in the
forest. Through a combination of text and visual essays working
in counterpoint, I reflected on how aesthetic, sensate experience
deepened by scientific knowledge offers a rich understanding of
fungi, the forest and human interactions.
At a time when Australia is shifting from a traditionally
mycophobic position towards greater interest in fungi, new
questions arise about their place in the living world. This
thesis presents fungi as a catalyst to rethink environmental
concepts and issues during a time of rapid change.
Description
Keywords
fungi, fungus, mushrooms, mycology, ethnomycology, ethnobiology, ecology
Citation
Collections
Source
Type
Thesis (PhD)
Book Title
Entity type
Access Statement
License Rights
Restricted until
Downloads
File
Description