How do writers, scientists, Indigenous knowledge holders, farmers, and practitioners co-create ‘relational foodways’ in different places and times? How does the transformation of scientists’ positionality help navigate food security potential for future generations? This dissertation counter-maps Western and non-Western food knowledges and practices through analysis of diverse seed narratives in two indigenous communities: the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians of Alabama and farmers’ collectives in southern Italy. Based on three years of interdisciplinary and community-based participatory research, I observed affinities in communities’ stories regarding their Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Traditional Local Knowledge (TLK) and foodways. The research questions examine how community memories of relationships with land, ancestors, and beliefs encapsulated in heritage seeds contribute to forming an external innovation space for food security, which evolves through the repetition of seed reproduction cycles. I also examine how land relations in place-embedded narratives were erased from the future of seed by the systemic agricultural industry. Drawing on interdisciplinary theories, Indigenous research methods, and outside-of-academia frameworks, I argue that preserving TEK and TLK empowers community resilience as documented in their community stories regarding climate change and biodiversity. Interviews with community members revealed the important role of seed savers’ and basket weavers’ knowledge protection efforts in developing contemporary innovative models of food sovereignty, especially in the leadership of women passing down generations of local values and culturally enhanced principles of sustainability. This study attempted an interdisciplinary approach to integrate Indigenous epistemologies to envision a break from the colonial past. Mapping traditional foodways allows us to rethink the ontological basis, reconsider the epistemological approaches, and unfold the new narrative picturing the Middle Place where scientists and traditional knowledge holders can come to reimagine humanity’s future relationship to other forms of life, including plants and seeds.

The Rhythm Harmonizer is a drum machine synthesizer with an experimental twist. The rhythm programming is achieved through square wave oscillator pulses. This may seem limiting as it only allows for even, metronome-like patterns, but by adjusting the speed of each voice independently, anything from triplet grooves to four on the floor rock beats could potentially be created. Furthermore, the use of pulse divisions encourages the use of polymeter, a technique that is uncommon in popular music. Another advantage of the pulse programming method is that it allows the tempo of the drums to be pushed so fast that they become sustained notes. Thus, the device can seamlessly transition from drum machine to synthesizer drone.

My thesis is a practice in Italian writing and Italian-English translation. During my semester abroad in Italy, I kept a journal of my experiences in Italian as a way to improve my proficiency and explore another facet of my identity. The entries included here range in topic from language acquisition, relationships, the experience of living in a foreign country, and self-exploration. Upon returning to the US, I translated each entry into English to see the different ways each language functions, as well as how my voice as a writer and individual comes through in both.