Date
11-11-2026
Department
School of Communication and the Arts
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Strategic Media (PhD)
Chair
Erin Black
Keywords
Social constructionism, sociocultural tradition, communication, YouTube, regenerative agriculture
Disciplines
Communication
Recommended Citation
Uzzetta, Penny L., "A Qualitative Sociocultural Study of Social Constructionism in YouTube Videos of the Permaculture Community" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 9097.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/9097
Abstract
This qualitative study addressed a gap in communication literature by examining how the permaculture community used YouTube to communicate knowledge about regenerative agriculture. Guided by a social constructionism framework within the sociocultural tradition, the study explored how narratives, symbols, audio, and video were used to communicate experiences, knowledge, and values related to permaculture and regenerative agriculture. The dataset consisted of 40 hours of publicly available YouTube videos from leading permaculture channels. The YouTube videos were examined using qualitative content analysis to better understand how the permaculture community communicated knowledge about regenerative agriculture. Across the videos, creators used stories from their own experiences, ecological symbols, and multimedia demonstrations to communicate knowledge, present regenerative agricultural practices, and encourage participation within the permaculture community. This study contributes to communication research by examining how online communities use multimedia communication to share knowledge and communicate meanings surrounding regenerative agriculture.
