Abstract
This paper examines dry stone walling communities as an example of how interdisciplinary research, participatory engagement, and policy development can support inclusive and culturally grounded responses to global social challenges. Through festivals, workshops, and international collaborations, dry stone walling operates as a cultural practice where heritage studies, ecology, communication, and community development come together. Drawing on cultural communication theory and fieldwork with cross-border walling networks, the study shows how hands-on collaboration encourages shared meaning, civic engagement, and a form of civic communion rooted in collective work. The paper also considers the festivalization of dry stone walling as a model for social problem solving. Festivals and community builds generate civic participation, intergenerational learning, place-based identity, and volunteer-driven infrastructure improvement. These activities demonstrate how participatory engagement strengthens social cohesion and counters polarization and disengagement in communities facing rapid global change. Dry stone projects bring volunteers, practitioners, scholars, and local governments into the same space, allowing community knowledge to interact with heritage policy, sustainable land use planning, and rural development goals. These collaborations show how this work gives people from different cultures a practical way to come together, communicate, and cooperate in an interconnected world. By placing walling traditions within the cultural dynamics of globalization, the paper demonstrates how local craft practices can help bridge sectors and disciplines and support cultural sustainability, community resilience, and societal well-being.
Presenters
Audra Mc MullenProfessor, Communication Studies, Towson University, Maryland, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Vectors of Society and Culture
KEYWORDS
Festivalization, Community Resilience, Cultural Sustainability, Cross-Cultural Cooperation, Globalization and Locality
