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Document Type

Research Paper

Abstract

Individuals hold many different views about nature, and throughout the research done on nature in the fall of 2000, a number of themes became apparent about the views college students at the University of Northern Iowa hold. Although numerous themes were discovered, four themes became universal across many of the subjects interviewed. The initial theme was an image that became known as the "bambi" scene. This image became present when subjects were asked to describe images that come to mind when they thought about nature. Some subjects even suggested that the Disney movie, Bambi is the prototype image of nature. The second theme is that nature is a place, not a process. Subjects seemed to suggest that humans think of nature as an untouched place, in which they alienate themselves from this place (nature). The third theme questions whether humans are apart of nature. Three different views became apparent when this question was asked of subjects: (1) Humans are not apart of nature, (2) humans are side-by-side with nature, and (3) humans are apart of nature. The final theme is the view that nature is good, although when subjects were asked further questions about nature, it was discovered that natural disasters are also apart of nature. Subjects did not often think about natural disasters as nature until further questioning was initiated by interviewers. Further questioning allowed subjects to move beyond the aesthetic beauty of nature, and realize that there is more to nature than just the "bambi" scene.

Publication Date

2001

Journal Title

Conference Proceedings: Undergraduate Social Science Research Conference

Volume

5

Issue

1

First Page

113

Last Page

120

Copyright

©2001 by the University of Northern Iowa

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Publisher

University of Northern Iowa

City

Cedar Falls, IA

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