Collaborative Research: Rhizomatic Nexus: Cultural Dimensions of Ecological Instability

Ecological instability has important implications for communities and ecologies, and cultural adaptations may support resiliency when facing resulting challenges. This collaboration between Florida Atlantic University and the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey examines how communities adapt culturally to environmental disruption and climate instability in an ecologically sensitive area. The Rhizomatic Nexus project studies similarities and differences that exist in the social experiences of people located in different but interconnected places in the Caribbean, focusing on cultural responses to climate instability in the "Hurricane Alley" between South Florida and Puerto Rico. This project creates and supports ethnographic laboratories at two MSIs to study how people adapt socially to environmental changes. The investigators study how communities adapt and respond to sustained ecological instability through the lens of culture. The work builds research capacity and provides mentorship opportunities for faculty and students. The goal of the project is to understand how people from diverse cultural backgrounds and life experiences deal with and respond to ecological instability by conducting research with communities under pressure from environmental change. This research highlights the challenges and opportunities faced by people living in rapidly fluctuating ecologies alongside failing or damaged infrastructures. Understanding cultural responses and adaptation to ecological instability can generate important and actionable insights that connect communities and individuals across and beyond the Caribbean, including coastal communities and island societies around the world. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.