Connecting Worlds: A Memoir on Art, Anthropology and Activism

The book "Connecting Worlds" introduces readers to the themes of transformative and participatory research through story, by reflecting on the author's journey of becoming and being a researcher engaged in the work of social change. Participation in the bush life of the 1970s Yukon, exposure to the complex culture of Mexico and a battle with cancer at the age of thirty-two prompted Daniel Buckles to work with people living on the edge: Honduran peasants inventing new agricultural technologies for hillside agriculture; landless Bangladeshi women gleaning nutrient-rich food from their surroundings; small religious communities standing in solidarity at the centre of disaster relief efforts in the Philippines and Burkina Faso; grassroots organizations fighting to protect urban forests in Ottawa, Canada. The experiences suggest that how we chose to connect to the world—the creative tension between self, others and nature—can become the catalyst for an engaged life and the realization that there is no separation between the parts of life.

Review Comments

"Connecting Worlds is an absorbing travelogue of contemporary social struggles, a captivating journey of sound and light, no small amount of adventure and many stories about how change really happens. I read the book twice: first with envy and the second time with admiration."

— Pat Roy Mooney is a Giraffe Hero, author of Shattering: Food, Politics, and the Loss of Genetic Diversity and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award and the Pearson Medal of Peace.

"As a young anthropologist, it is inspiring to read this candid and informative book. Buckles doesn't shy away from imagining a better world, and demonstrates how anthropology's methods can be used to get us there."

— Emma Bider, PhD candidate and author of We Animals.

"This is a wonderfully refreshing and energizing book that celebrates the possibility of many different worlds."

— Michel Pimbert is Professor of Agroecology and Food Politics at Coventry University (UK), and author of Food Sovereignty, Agroecology and Biocultural Diversity.