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Summary
Summary
Winner, 2014 Distinguished Scholarship Award presented by the Animals & Society section of the American Sociological Association
Bees are essential for human survival--one-third of all food on American dining tables depends on the labor of bees. Beyond pollination, the very idea of the bee is ubiquitous in our culture: we can feel buzzed; we can create buzz; we have worker bees, drones, and Queen bees; we establish collectives and even have communities that share a hive-mind. In Buzz, authors Lisa Jean Moore and Mary Kosut convincingly argue that the power of bees goes beyond the food cycle, bees are our mascots, our models, and, unlike any other insect, are both feared and revered.
In this fascinating account, Moore and Kosut travel into the land of urban beekeeping in New York City, where raising bees has become all the rage. We follow them as they climb up on rooftops, attend beekeeping workshops and honey festivals, and even put on full-body beekeeping suits and open up the hives. In the process, we meet a passionate, dedicated, and eclectic group of urban beekeepers who tend to their brood with an emotional and ecological connection that many find restorative and empowering. Kosut and Moore also interview professional beekeepers and many others who tend to their bees for their all-important production of a food staple: honey. The artisanal food shops that are so popular in Brooklyn are a perfect place to sell not just honey, but all manner of goods: soaps, candles, beeswax, beauty products, and even bee pollen.
Buzz also examines media representations of bees, such as children's books, films, and consumer culture, bringing to light the reciprocal way in which the bee and our idea of the bee inform one another. Partly an ethnographic investigation and partly a meditation on the very nature of human/insect relations, Moore and Kosut argue that how we define, visualize, and interact with bees clearly reflects our changing social and ecological landscape, pointing to how we conceive of and create culture, and how, in essence, we create ourselves.
Author Notes
Moore Lisa Jean :
Lisa Jean Moore is SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Purchase College, State University of New York. She is the author of Sperm Counts: Overcome by Man's Most Precious Fluid, Catch & Release: The Enduring Yet Vulnerable Horseshoe Crab, Our Transgenic Future: Spider Goats, Genetic Modification and the Will to Change Nature as well as the co-author of Missing Bodies: The Politics of Visibility and Buzz: Urban Beekeeping and the Power of the Bee . She is also co-editor of The Body Reader: Essential Social and Cultural Readings. Kosut Mary :
Mary Kosut is a cultural sociologist and Associate Professor of Media, Society, and the Arts and Gender Studies at Purchase College, State University of New York. She is editor of The Encyclopedia of Gender in Media, co-editor of The Body Reader: Essential Social and Cultural Readings, and author of Buzz: Urban Beekeeping and the Power of the Bee. Lisa Jean Moore (Author)
Lisa Jean Moore is SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Purchase College, State University of New York. She is the author of Sperm Counts: Overcome by Man's Most Precious Fluid, Catch & Release: The Enduring Yet Vulnerable Horseshoe Crab, Our Transgenic Future: Spider Goats, Genetic Modification and the Will to Change Nature as well as the co-author of Missing Bodies: The Politics of Visibility and Buzz: Urban Beekeeping and the Power of the Bee . She is also co-editor of The Body Reader: Essential Social and Cultural Readings.
Mary Kosut (Author)
Mary Kosut is a cultural sociologist and Associate Professor of Media, Society, and the Arts and Gender Studies at Purchase College, State University of New York. She is editor of The Encyclopedia of Gender in Media, co-editor of The Body Reader: Essential Social and Cultural Readings, and author of Buzz: Urban Beekeeping and the Power of the Bee.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Noticing a marked uptick in the number of times bees or locally produced honey was mentioned by friends and coworkers, SUNY-Purchase professors Moore and Kosut were determined to see what the fuss was about and enrolled in a six-month class on urban beekeeping. Beginning with a meandering introduction, the duo dig through the subject with an attention to detail only a tenured academic can provide. Ruminations on what it means to be a hipster, dissections of the two types of beekeepers ("initially referred to as the rational/scientific and naturalist/backwards paradigms"), and a clinical assessment of branding and marketing are dry and long-winded. This consistently arid approach may make the book valuable in an academic setting, but those interested in the topic will likely find their eyes glazing over as they wonder "is this going to be on the final?" (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Two sociologists noticed the growth of urban homesteading and do-it-yourselfism, and at the same time became aware of the rise of beekeeping. There was a shift toward bringing the natural into the urban, and, as they began to sample local honey, compare beeswax candles, and talk to friends who kept bees, they began to feel the buzz (which they compare to a contact high) about bees. What follows is their ethnographic journey through the world of urban beekeeping as they dove into a whole new subculture. Neither was a huge animal lover or nature enthusiast, but as they enrolled in a six-month class on urban beekeeping, set up a pollination plot at the college where they teach, attended lectures by bee scientists, and learned to handle bees, they found that they were transformed through the buzz of bees and the zeitgeist of working with bees. In this fascinating blend of sociology, ecology, ethnographic research, and personal memoir, the authors range through all of the aspects of the human relationship with the honeybee.--Bent, Nancy Copyright 2010 Booklist
Choice Review
Since the lifting of the long-standing ban against keeping bees in New York City, beekeeping has become an increasingly popular pastime among city residents. Here, Moore and Kosut (both, Purchase College, SUNY) explore the modern-day culture of urban beekeeping in Brooklyn. They examine many aspects of bees, beekeeping, and beekeepers, providing a sociological perspective of do-it-yourself urban communities, back-to-the-land initiatives, and green lifestyles. Reflecting on the natural history of bees and their interactions with beekeepers, the authors recognize and celebrate these fascinating insects as valuable species in their own right, while not forgetting their indispensable role as agricultural partners. Both perspectives are considered in the larger contexts of humanism, animal rights, ecological awareness, and environmental stewardship. The authors frequently make comparisons between the honeybee colony and human society. The text lacks the convoluted writing style that often typifies books by social scientists; it is an interesting and highly readable work that offers an intriguing glimpse into the unique culture of beekeeping, a popular and fast-growing urban phenomenon. Buzz will interest not only general readers, but also students of sociology, natural history/ecology, and entomology, and, of course, anyone with an established or burgeoning passion for beekeeping. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates and general audiences. D. A. Brass independent scholar
Library Journal Review
Moore (sociology & gender studies) and Kosut (media, society, & the arts and gender studies, both, Purchase Coll., SUNY) delve into the practices and passions of urban beekeepers in New York City. As they learn more about the insect through workshops, interviews with professional beekeepers, and their own practice, they reveal with keen insight the insect's history, the present decimation of colonies through colony collapse disorder, and the need to preserve the bee for the world's future. Covering everything from the place of honey in artisanal food shops and health-related goods, to cultural and media images, the authors describe how the bee has manifested as a cultural representation of the natural world and how people respond to it. VERDICT While this study of the cultural phenomenon of bees is not for the casual hobbyist, readers with a keen desire to understand how bees fit into society and sustainability will find this text on human/insect relations an intriguing read.-Kristi Chadwick, Emily Williston Memorial Lib., Easthampton, MA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.