Daniel Miller

Miller plans to explore the intersection of culture and modernity through folk wrestling. He hopes to learn more about the transitions between nations and regions by participating in traditional wrestling styles in each of the countries he visits. In particular he is interested in how indigenous ideas and expectations of masculinity are impacted by globalization, and how this negotiation happens in communities. He plans to use folk wrestling as a window into the countries he visits, as well as a tool to explore a similar negotiation within himself. As a young man he was guided by athletics through turbulence, chaos and uncertainty. Sport gave him the confidence to fail (often miserably), succeed, adapt and move forward. Miller hopes to discern more deeply how the refuge and guidance of sport occurs globally and if folk wrestling functions can function as a similar support for whole communities. He tentatively plans to visit Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, India, Nepal, Armenia, Turkey, Switzerland, and France.