First Advisor
Michele Gamburd
Date of Award
8-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Anthropology and University Honors
Department
Anthropology
Language
English
Subjects
Homeless, Caregiving, Biopolitics, Mutual aid, Democracy, Necropolitics
Abstract
This thesis provides an applied anthropological ethnography of frostbite among unsheltered people in Portland, Oregon. I conducted the research over the course of three months between May and August 2024 in collaboration with Hygiene4All, a local nonprofit. The research consisted of participant-observation, six semi-structured interviews, and a review of unpublished data from Hygiene4All. I argue that the conceptualization of safety operating within some parts of Portland’s governance structures actually makes unsheltered Portlanders more vulnerable to frostbite: governance bodies actively participate in constructing this vulnerability along the lines of disability, isolation, and displacement. I discuss uneven governance and the biopolitical conflicts that arise as different actors within a fragmented system of governance attempt to create and enact policy related to homelessness in Portland; the resulting complexity creates frustrating problems which providers on the ground see as unnecessary and counterproductive. Finally, I point to the connections between these phenomena and link them to care: I argue that the major elements of ‘good enough’ care include consistency and reliability, intimacy and trust, the capacity to attune to care recipients’ needs and abilities, and a visceral feeling of welcome and care felt by recipients. When these elements do not arise in care experiences, or when systems engage in ‘institutional betrayal,’ unsheltered people react with ‘system resistance’ and avoid institutions. This avoidance, as well as care practices that routinely not do not serve as ‘good enough’, increase vulnerability to frostbite. Solutions include more democratic efforts, building trust within communities, and offering stability, agency, and intimacy.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Muireall, "An Ethnography of Frostbite Among Unsheltered People in Portland: Safety, governance, and the manufacture of vulnerability" (2024). University Honors Theses. Paper 1570.