Becoming and Being a Camp Counsellor: a study of discourse, power relations and emotion

Abstract

This study problematises current knowledge of camp employment in order to explore the role of emotions in both positive and negative experiences of camp counsellors. Young camp counsellors and management staff are reconceptualised in post-structuralist terms, that is, they are selves that are multiple and fragmented, engaged in everyday experiences and interactions, and constituted in discourse and practice (Marshall, 1997). Camp counsellors are situated in a nexus of power relations with campers, peers, camp management and their own self. Just how they negotiate these power relations is central to my study. In this way, a post-structuralist perspective informs a dynamic and deeper understanding of how power is at work in shaping the emotion work of camp counsellors. Thus I bring Foucault’s notion of power together with the sociology of emotions and emotion work.

A reflexive methodology guided the design, data collection, analysis and writing of my research. After completing two pilot interviews, I conducted thirty-eight in-depth interviews during the fall of 2009 in Ontario, Canada. Interviews were transcribed and were coded both manually and then again using NVivo software for more complex analysis. Additionally, I gathered field notes, five staff manuals, 51 web-published Mission Statements, various camp textbooks and one leadership program curriculum. The data was analysed for themes as well as discursive practices. Analysis continued throughout the writing process where I included a number of personal narratives of camp experiences.