The Labyrinth Project is a collaborative inquiry into nature in Los Angeles. Lab members include faculty in The Institute for Society and Genetics along with graduate students from anthropology, environmental science, and public health and a team of undergraduates majoring in Human Biology and Society at UCLA. Beginning in 2019, we explore subjects related to the social, political, and cultural aspects of nature in LA. Using a mix of structured interviewing, collaborative urban anthropology, ecological observation, and analysis of social media content, we explored an unusual “trophic cascade” of topics central to the lives of humans and non-humans in LA: wetlands, lawns, rats, cats, coyotes, mountain lions’ interaction with human affect, state power, indigenous politics, aesthetic pleasure, local governmental power and much more. We have also produced a podcast project in collaboration with the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies at UCLA.
Inside a rodent bait station, Mandeville Canyon, Los Angeles, 2019. Photo by C. Kelty
Project
(2021-2022)