Rebecca Thomas

Biography
Rebecca Thomas came to Hampshire from the small town of Westford in northern Vermont. She attended Essex High School in Essex Junction, Vermont. Rebecca plays the oboe and English horn. She is an alumna of the Vermont Youth Orchestra. While at Hampshire she played with the Mount Holyoke College Orchestra, the Amherst College Orchestra, and the Smith College Orchestra. Rebecca was an exchange student in Paraguay during high school, through AFS. She speaks Spanish and French fairly well (although she tends to get a bit rusty when she doesn't practice them...).

Rebecca passed Division II in May 2010. Her Div II title was "Intersections of Environmental Issues and Social Justice," and her Div II work was in both SS and NS (but with more of a focus on SS). She studied abroad in Senegal in fall 2009 on the Living Routes program (http://www.livingroutes.org/programs/p_senegal_semester.htm) as part of her Division II studies. For Division III, Rebecca conducted ethnographic research at a community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm in her hometown of Westford, Vermont. Some of her other interests include Western classical music, world music/ethnomusicology, and photography. Rebecca graduated from Hampshire in May 2011.

Student Groups

 * Member of Amnesty International student group, and signer in fall 2008 and spring 2009
 * Member of New Leaf
 * Resident of Greenhouse Mod in spring 2011

Division III - "Hearts Starve as Well as Bodies": Community-Supported Agriculture in Westford, Vermont
Div III Abstract

The current global, industrial food system is unsustainable and unjust. Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is one approach that attempts to integrate environmental, economic, and socio-cultural sustainability. Enthusiasts may idealize CSA as a perfect solution to the problems of the current industrial food system. On the other hand, critics may denounce it as an elitist indulgence accessible only to those who have time and money to spare. Each of these views contains elements of truth, but both are overly simplistic. In this paper, I aim to complicate such perspectives through an in-depth ethnographic exploration of one particular CSA, namely Bread and Roses Farm in Westford, Vermont. I begin by describing my own family's experiences with CSA membership. I then shift to the farmers' perspectives, exploring the farmers' personal stories and what drew them to CSA. These stories serve as an entry point to discuss broader themes within community-supported agriculture. In the remainder of the paper, I focus on the themes of transparency and food democracy; accessibility and social justice; and community. I conclude that community-supported agriculture cannot in and of itself transform the current industrial food system into a more sustainable, democratic, and socially just one. However, CSAs do have something to offer – they are raising awareness and opening up space for the exploration of alternative ways of producing and consuming food.

My Div III thesis is available on 'DSpace', the library's online Div III archive (https://dspace.hampshire.edu/).

Spring 2011


 * Wrote my Div III thesis based on my ethnographic research as well as written sources
 * SS-305 Writing (Against) Culture (Kim Chang)
 * Oboe lessons with Kirsten Lipkens at Smith College
 * MUSIC-5920 Double Reed Ensemble at UMass
 * Principal oboist in the Amherst College Symphony Orchestra

Fall 2010


 * Ethnographic research at a community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm in my hometown of Westford, Vermont, including participant observation and interviews
 * ENVS 195 Vermont Food Systems at the University of Vermont (Rachel Schattman)

Division II - Intersections of Environmental Issues and Social Justice
Spring 2010


 * SS-250 Critical Ethnography (Kim Chang) My ethnography project for this course focused on the Hampshire College Farm Center.


 * SS-271 The Contested American Countryside (Robert Rakoff)
 * SPAN-350-01 Community Narratives: (In)Visibility and Representation in Literature and Media at Mount Holyoke College (Rogelio Miñana)  This was a Community-Based Learning class that involved working with the Latino Youth Media Institute (LYMI) in Springfield.
 * Oboe lessons with Kirsten Lipkens at Smith College/UMass
 * Played with the Smith College Orchestra (including the English horn solo in Dvorak's New World Symphony!)

Fall 2009

Study abroad: Sustainable Community Development in Senegal, through Living Routes (http://www.livingroutes.org/programs/p_senegal_semester.htm)

Summer 2009

Chaperone for the Vermont Council on World Affairs “Heritage in Harmony” Vermont-Quebec-France Youth Leadership Quadricentennial Program (http://www.vcwa.org/vcwa_heritageharmony.html), a six-week music and leadership program for high school students from Vermont, Quebec, and France that took place in those three locations. This unpaid position fulfilled my Div II community service requirement.

Spring 2009


 * NS-267 Elements of Sustainability (Fred Wirth)
 * NS-294 Sustainable Agriculture and Organic Farming (Brian Schultz)
 * HIST-301-02 Ecology &amp; Imperialism in Africa at Mount Holyoke College (David Newbury - Smith College)
 * FRN-240-01 Ca Parle Drolement: French Theatre Workshop at Smith College (Fabienne Bullot)
 * Oboe lessons with Kirsten Lipkens at Smith College
 * Played with the Amherst College Symphony Orchestra

Jan Term 2009


 * CS-267 Community Engagement - Training &amp; Reflection (Paul Bocko)

Fall 2008


 * SS-238 Economic Development (Omar Dahi)
 * SS-204 Ways of Knowing in the Social Sciences (Kim Chang)
 * HACU-119 Musical Beginnings (Rebecca Miller)
 * French 219-01 French-Speaking World at Mount Holyoke College (Samba Gadjigo)
 * Oboe lessons with Kirsten Lipkens at Smith College
 * Played with the Amherst College Symphony Orchestra

Division I
Spring 2008


 * SS-285 Environment and Social Justice (Sue Darlington and Stephanie Levin)
 * NS-155 Earth Science Frontiers and Environmental Issues (Steve Roof)
 * HACU-145 Contemp. Latin American Literature (Norman Holland)
 * French 203-02 Advanced Intermediate French (also known as Int. Language and Comp French) at Mount Holyoke College (Catherine Bloom)
 * Oboe lessons with Kirsten Lipkens at Smith College
 * Music 191s MHC Orchestra at Mount Holyoke College

Jan Term 2008


 * SS-107 Performing Bolivian Music (Hampshire professor Michelle Bigenho and Rolando Encinas from Bolivia)

Fall 2007


 * SS-151 Culture, Religion, and Environmentalism (Sue Darlington)
 * CS-110 The Nature of Language (Kathryn Flack)
 * IA-202 Intermediate Spanish II (Daniel Cuenca)
 * SS-104T Music and Politics of Latin America (Michelle Bigenho)
 * Oboe lessons with Kirsten Lipkens at Smith College
 * MUSIC-5920 Double Reed Ensemble at UMass
 * Music 191 MHC Orchestra at Mount Holyoke College