Date of Completion

2025

Document Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Environmental Studies

Thesis Type

Honors College, Environmental Studies Electronic Thesis

First Advisor

Ingrid Nelson

Second Advisor

Harlan Morehouse

Third Advisor

Rachelle Gould

Keywords

Autoethnography, ethnography, digital app, environment, exposure, toxic chemical, cancer, detox

Abstract

This thesis offers an autoethnographic analysis of the digital app Detox Me in a context where I am reading and engaging with environmental toxins literature such as Sandra Steingraber’s Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment. I analyze Steingraber’s suggested practice for confronting the carcinogens in our lives, a process she calls “discovering our ecological roots” and describe a new practice that I developed throughout my research and use of Detox Me. I argue that we have outgrown Steingraber’s practice and that a new process is required in order to reflect the experiences of young digital natives like me who are navigating an increasingly toxic world. I weave together my analysis of Detox Me, my personal experiences with cancer and chemicals, and my readings of feminist and environmental literature to develop a new practice for confronting carcinogens. When I completed my weaving, I found that three essential steps emerged from my experience confronting the carcinogens in my life. I conclude that, first, it is essential for me to reject ideas of purity. Next, I have to make stronger connections with human and non-human others in my life. Lastly, I have to open my senses and emotions to a new kind of attunement.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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