Talking Sustainability: Identification and Division in an Iowa Community

Abstract

This study investigates how sustainability and its inherent values figure into farmers' discourse, i.e., how farmers and members of farming communities talk about sustainability. We conducted qualitative interviews of various individuals in a single Iowa community to determine whether the visions guiding their land management choices resembled at all the ideals of a sustainable agriculture. Using Kenneth Burke's concepts of identification and division, we rhetorically analyzed the interview transcripts. We found animosity towards much green terminology but widespread commitment to environmental preservation, especially when aligned with economic interests. We highlight rhetorical strategies for promoting sustainable practices.

Keywords:

• rhetoric
• language
• incommensurability
• identification
• economics
• environment
• community

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Jill Euken, Rick Cruise, Paul Brown, Jerri Neal, and Matt Liebman at Iowa State in locating research subjects. We would also like to thank Caroline Gottschalk-Druschke, Ben Crosby, and Jean McGuire for reading earlier drafts of this article.

Research supported by a grant from the Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Iowa State University.