Re-creating a fertile desert: genealogical implications of experimental community

Black Rock City is a notable ephemeral place in Northern Nevada where 70,000 Burning Man participants (many from the local technology community) come together to annually create an alternative city in the desert. It is a landscape steeped with innovation and experimentation that permits freedom to practice radical cultural values and nontraditional social relationships which challenge traditional genealogical patterns. 

Dr. Kerry Rohrmeier is a lecturer in the geography department at San Jose State University and Cal State East Bay. She earned her doctoral degree at the University of Nevada, Reno where she wrote ethnography on Burning Man, and can more recently be found in eastern Nevada developing her own desert utopia.

This is the Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society’s monthly general meeting. All are welcome.
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