From Capitalist Crisis to Nomadic Selfhood: Existential Triumph and Nomadism in Jessica Bruder’s Nomadland

Abstract

The research paper titled ‘From capitalist crisis to Nomadic Selfhood: Existential Triumph and Nomadism in Jessica Bruder’s Nomadland ’, analyses the real-life experience of the people who resist the failing capitalism of the 21st century. Bruder’s Nomadland portrays the tough realities faced by working-class people and their resistance against the consequences of unemployment and homelessness as nomads. The never-ending economic crisis and modern slavery of capitalism push them to the edge of nomadic existence. It further advocates that the increasing subculture of urban nomadism has become a lifestyle by choice for some, while the only way of surviving for others. The paper argues that the realities portrayed in Nomadland are not something that exists only in America, but have become a global phenomenon. Therefore, the research paper examines the ability of the proletariat to navigate the effects of capitalist exploitation, pandemic, socio- economic consequences, and forced displacements through the lens of existentialist theory. Furthermore, the study advocates how nomadism decentres the conventional notions of homelessness and emerges as a means of self-discovery, resilience and chosen identity for individuals confronting the persistent socio-economic crisis as nomads.