Intersubjective Sensibilities: Memory, Experience, and Meaning in Natural History Interpretation

Abstract

This ethnographic account examines the perceptions of a group of outdoor educators or naturalists in a mid-western state park in regards to memory construction and how early memories impact their practice of interpretation. Findings show that early personal memories are not only fundamental to their eventual life as a naturalist but further; these memories motivate their work within the park. Of primary focus is highlighting the intersubjective continuity between the memories of naturalists and what they hope for others and the eventual goal of meaning making by way of affective memories. By describing and interpreting their perceptions of experience and memory we can examine how these processes are invested with significance and what role this plays in their subsequent practice. Since there is little ethnographic research concerning naturalists, this form of cultural analysis provides an important lens that permits an intimate account of naturalists’ own awareness as a way to understand their unique contributions as educators.