Winter Draft

Friday, March 13, 4:00 PM: WINTER DRAFT DUE 
What to Submit: 
• 10-15 page draft section 
• Submit via Google Classroom 
• This is one complete section of your thesis (typically one data analysis chapter) • Should include: argument, evidence from your data, analysis, connection to research  question 
• Complete with citations (if referencing outside sources) 
• Proofread for clarity and grammar 
Grading Criteria: 
• Analytical depth (does the argument go beyond description?) 
• Use of evidence (is data effectively integrated and analyzed?) 
• Writing clarity (is prose clear, organized, and engaging?) 
• Argument coherence (does the section build toward a clear point?)

Spirituality & Ontologies through Trees

By: Cece Haas

Abstract

This study holds significance because it expands anthropology beyond human-centered paradigms to incorporate relational information exchange with nonhuman entities by reimagining trees as sentient individuals within multispecies ethnography. It highlights how human-tree contact promotes spiritual connection and supports trees as co-participants in creating significance by focusing on embodied and sensory techniques including touch, meditation, ritual, and embodiment. The study advances qualitative approaches that prioritize lived experiences, oral narratives, and participant observations of understanding by incorporating frameworks from Abbott's sensory ethnography, Kirksey and Helmreich's multispecies approach, Kohn's semiotics of forests, and Ballestro and Winthereik's experimental analysis. In the end, it concludes how spiritual attachments to trees foster ecological empathy and reinterpret moral obligation toward nonhuman species, advancing environmental humanities as well as more general discussions about ethics, relationship, and ecological care. 

Keywords: human-tree relationships, multispecies ethnography, sensory ethnography, relational ontology

Introduction

Literature Review

The following literature reviews include major works that question anthropocentric paradigms and broaden ethnographic research into multispecies, embodiment, and interactive frameworks. Scholars such as Sarah Abbott(2021), Kirksey and Helmreich(2010), Eduardo Kohn, and Ballestero and Winthereik(2017) all provide unique but complimentary viewpoints on how nonhuman animals, particularly trees. Their findings emphasize methodologies that vary from sensory and physical ethnographic methods to semiotic evaluation and experimental dispersion, all of which serve as solid frameworks for investigating how human-tree relationships foster ecological empathy and expand ethical obligation for nonhuman life.

Sarah Abbott's Tree of Knowing (2021) takes a qualitative ethnographic technique, emphasizing Participatory observation of ecosystems and tree-planting organizations. Her field notes document emotions, sensory perceptions, and intuitive encounters as well as embodied experiences with trees include touch, awareness, and emotional resonance. Abbott engaged in collaborative methods with communities, emphasizing relational and participatory knowledge production. This paradigm emphasizes sensory and embodied modalities of knowledge, with trees serving as relational partners as opposed to passive objects. Using Ontological Emergence Theory , Abbott contends that tree-human communication evolves relationally rather than as a predefined symbolic structure (2021,p. 56). Ontological emergence implies that meaning emerges via interaction, intuition, and embodied experience. She defines trees as creatures with different ontologies, lifeways, and levels of intelligence. Abbott encourages study that emphasizes tactile, affective, and intuitive ways of connecting with trees, so cultivating more environmental sensitivity. Abbott explores communication between trees and humans as emergent and relational, coming from embodied activities like touch, intuition, and psychological resonance (2021, 72). Abbott displays the ontological and affective nature of empathy by urging individuals to feel and behave as relational partners with trees. This changes how individuals see their function in natural systems. Her results support spiritual and emotional traditions, demonstrating that embodied, sensuous behaviors give anthropological evidence of tree-human spiritual connection. Abbott's theory is consistent with initiatives investigating the spiritual and sensory relationships humans establish with trees. Abbott's ethnography serves both a methodological and theoretical framework for investigating how people create empathy and relationships with trees as living beings. Abbott's research makes a groundbreaking contribution to multispecies ethnography and environmental humanities.  Her work emphasizes the relevance of embodied, spiritual, and emotional practices in developing ecological empathy, providing a critical foundation for future study into the spiritual elements of human-tree connections.

Kirksey and Helmreich's The Emergence of Multispecies Ethnography (2010) is a substantial shift from traditional anthropological methodologies, which have typically focused solely on humans as participants. Their work is situated within anthropology and science and technology theories, building on feminist and post humanist literature to highlight the responsibility of nonhuman species. This paradigm is especially useful for study into the ecological and spiritual linkages between humans and trees because it offers a methodological and theoretical foundation to comprehending interspecies relationships. The writers mainly rely on Donna Haraway's Becoming with idea, which emphasizes interspecies co-evolution and relationship. This post humanist perspective opposes anthropocentrism by seeing animals, plants, and microbes as entities with histories, connections, and political importance. Kirksey and Helmreich use qualitative, interpretative techniques. Their strategy consists of participant observation in "contact zones," which include urban areas, farms, labs, and woods where different species coexist(551). Interviews and field notes recording relational, emotional, and sensory experiences. Collaborative projects, such as the Multispecies Salon, which bring together academics, artists, and activists to discuss interspecies connections. Multispecies entanglements are highlighted in activist efforts using visuals and social media analysis. Their findings show how human life is intricately linked to the histories and actions of microbes, plants, animals, and other living things. In regard to environmental deterioration, colonial traditions, and economic exploitation, the piece calls for moral duty for nonhuman species and challenges human-centered ideas.

A collection that rethinks ethnographic analysis as an active, experimental process was co-edited by Ross Winthereik, and Andrea Ballestero(2010).  They stress the participative, tactile, and embodied aspects of analysis rather than viewing it as a simply academic or abstract undertaking. Their work differs from previous traditions that frequently gave theoretical frameworks precedence over the authenticity of ethnographic experience because of this methodological change. Their strategy consists of: Using digital tools, audio recordings, drawings, and reading materials as analytical tools is known as analytical experimenting. Considering analysis as a lived, sensory process as opposed to a detached intellectual exercise is known as embodied involvement. Collaborative displacement is the process of colleagues sharing field materials to provide fresh insights and interpretations. The authors (Korsby and Stavrianakis 2010) explain how providing a colleague with a field object and assessing each other's materials starts a "displacement of understanding" in Chapter 6, Understanding Displacement (pp. 92–93). 

This little but important change creates new avenues for study, enabling researchers to reevaluate how they relate to ethnographic data from a different perspective. Looking at something from a different angle leads to new ideas and changes one's own knowledge. The approach emphasizes qualitative components like pictures, smells, and excerpts from field notes or interviews rather than depending on statistical testing or numerical measurement. In certain situations, trees might be viewed as relational creatures with spiritual value rather than just as ecological data points. Trees serve as embodied field objects in activities like collective tree-planting rituals and meditation with trees. Researchers might participate in a relocation of understanding by discussing these experiences with others, viewing the tree from their point of view, considering distinctions, and incorporating these realizations into their own understanding. In addition to demonstrating how collaborative interpretation may enhance relationship understanding and ecological sensitivity, this method confirms trees as both spiritual and sensory objects.

With a focus on semiotics, diverse species relationships, and Amazonian ethnography, Eduardo Kohn(2013) places his work within the field of cultural anthropology. By investigating the ways in which plants, animals, and forests contribute to meaning-making, his study questions human-centered ideologies. By showing how ecosystems themselves communicate, Kohn's main thesis—that trees and forests "think" as semiotic creatures—takes semiotics beyond the boundaries of human speech. Kohn uses a qualitative, interpretive ethnographic framework with a focus on semiotic evaluation and ontology. Among his techniques are: Indigenous groups in the Amazon were observed, with an emphasis on how they interacted with forests, animals, and spirits. Tales, traditions, and worldviews that provide light on human-nonhuman connections are captured through interviews and storytelling. ecological observation, recording the interactions

and effects on human perception of animals, plants, and forest ecosystems. Kohn's research shows that: As semiotic agents, forests and trees provide meanings and messages that influence human comprehension. Semiotics is extended beyond humans by the communication of animals, plants, and ecosystems. Indigenous stories show how spirits, animals, and woods co-create meaning, demonstrating how natural interactions impact human perception. As a fundamental component of ethnographic research, anthropology must embrace multispecies ontology and transcend human-centered paradigms. He questions anthropocentric presumptions and creates opportunities for rethinking interspecies communication by viewing forests and trees as semiotic actors. The significance of seeing trees and ecosystems as active participants in meaning-making is highlighted by his focus on semiotics, ontology, and Indigenous viewpoints. Kohn's work provides an essential theoretical framework for comprehending forests as a part of an "Open Whole" in which human language is just one of many sources of meaning for research centered on the spiritual aspects of human-tree connections.

Statement of Research Questions

This qualitative ethnographic design emphasizes multispecies relationships, bodily practices, and sensory engagement. It presents trees as conscious actors and spiritual partners rather than as inert ecological data points. The approach places a strong emphasis on interpretative, experimental, and interactive methods that support spirituality, ecological sensitivity, and embodied knowledge.

Specifically, I ask how embodied practices like touch, meditation, presence, and ritual influence human-tree communication and spiritual connection, thereby redefining ecological empathy and moral responsibility toward nonhuman beings? How can trees be viewed as sentient agents within multispecies ethnography? 

Methodology

Using the materials we had in class, traditional ethnography can be clarified as the process of fully immersing oneself in everyday life as individuals in order to gain an internal understanding of their social environments. According to Murchison (2010), ethnography is a methodical yet adaptable approach based on field notes, interviews, and participant observations. Geertz(1973)  famously defines ethnography as “Thick Description” contending that the ethnographer's job is to understand the networks of significance in which individuals are suspended rather than merely documenting behavior. By demonstrating how ethnography may include sensory and visual aspects, Pink (2009) expands on this. And Boellstrof(2012) illustrates how ethnography evolves to new environments, such as internet-based worlds, while remaining committed to immersion, comprehension, and reflective thinking. Ethnography is crucial because it defines simplicity and abstraction, emphasizing the complexity of lived realities and enabling researchers to track the intersections of everyday practices, cultural principles, and structures of power while also highlighting the moral obligation of accurately portraying others.       

Documentation of rituals, meditation, or healing interactions with trees are examples of embodied practices. Field notes documenting touch, sound, smell, and emotional resonance in interactions between humans and trees are known as sensory impressions. Opinions from people who interact with trees as relational or spiritual entities. Using Korsby and Stravrianakis displacement approach to swap “field objects” in order to provide fresh perspectives on tree-centered actions. Several ethnographic techniques are witnessed being used through this study design. Investigating the ways in which sensory activities promote spiritual connectedness and ecological sensitivity. In order to explore how trees are seen as sentient creatures, this technique blends participant observations, dense descriptions, sensory ethnography, and collaborative

displacement. The initiative challenges reductionist paradigms and fosters a relational, multispecies ethnography by emphasizing narrative, bodily, and sensory data. In order to comprehend how spiritual ties to trees transform ecological empathy and moral responsibility, the design is overtly interpretative and experimental.    

Project Significance

The significance to this information helps by presenting trees as sentient creatures capable of relational information exchange rather than as inert ecological objects; this initiative challenges anthropocentric assumptions. It adds to an expanding corpus of work that acknowledges nonhuman entities as active participants in meaning-making by drawing on semiotics, multispecies ethnography, and sensory studies. The endeavor illustrates how qualitative, interpretive, and participatory methods can be modified to investigate human-tree relationships by combining techniques from Sarah Abbott (embodied and sensory ethnography), Kirksey & Helmreich (multispecies ethnography), Kohn (semiotics of forests), and Ballestro & Winthereik (experimental displacement). Ethnography now encompasses spiritual, sensory, and ecological aspects. The study emphasizes the ways in which embodied activities, such as ritual, meditation, and group tree planting, promote spiritual ties with trees. These approaches reinterpret spirituality as a felt connection based on respect, acknowledgment, and listening rather than as an abstract idea. By doing this, the initiative highlights how spirituality fosters moral responsibility for nonhuman animals as well as ecological sensitivity. By providing fresh perspectives on ecological responsibility, this research advances anthropology and environmental humanities. It offers a paradigm for comprehending how spiritual ties to trees may motivate moral behavior in the face of economic exploitation and environmental deterioration. It serves as an example of how communities may use embodied, multispecies practices to develop greater

ecological empathy and relation ethics. It aims to develop ethnographic techniques, by redefining trees as relational creatures, connecting spirituality and ecology, and promotes both scholarship and ecological ethics. 

            When taken as a whole, these materials help support the study of trees as spiritual frameworks. They demonstrate that trees are ontological entities with pathways of life, intellects, and spiritual resonance rather than inanimate data corresponding with their environment. Through meditation, therapeutic practice, and embodiment, humans interact with trees in multispecies relationships that shift moral responsibility and ecological empathy. The literature shows that trees may be examined as ontological and spiritual partners. By examining how various human-tree interactions arise via embodied, spiritual activities and how these actions transform our knowledge of ecology and ethics.