Hanner, Katherine Mali

This thesis explores the concept of precarity in relation to sustainability efforts within the United States through a comparison of victory gardens during World War II and the contemporary garden movement in the twenty-first century. Victory gardens were used as a means to promote civilian action in war efforts to supplement food rationing and contemporary gardening has encouraged the average homeowner to grow backyard gardens in the name of sustainability. Both demonstrate how the marketing strategies during perceived crises have utilized precarity rather than progress to propel action among the common man. While some tactics employed then still remain useful now, others have lost relevance since then. I will compare and contrast how persuasive speech and marketing have changed to suit the target audience of those marketing sustainability goals, focusing on the influence of optimism as a driving motivator during both time periods.