About
The American Hobo Project is a multimedia exploration of the 21st century hobo. What does it mean to be a hobo during the decline of the rail? Who is a hobo and why? We are hobo enthusiasts and students at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. This is our Master’s Project.
Eric Baliantz spent eleven years alternating work on freight ships and studying. His travels to sea have brought him to many regions of the world, mostly in Africa. He is interested in different modes of transportation and thinks that travel by freight train is one of the best ways to observe the world, along with kyaking, longboard skateboarding and walking.
He holds a degree in anthropology from the University of California at Davis and began riding freight trains in his spare time while studying for his Merchant Marine officer’s license in Seattle.
Contact him at hardtravel[at]gmail[dot]com.
Alex Lowther was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. Go Buckeyes. Since graduating from Colorado College in 2005 with an English degree, he has been wandering around. He has ridden freight ships on the Amazon in Peru, hitchhiked on three continents, rock climbed 5.13+ and summited a nearly 20,000-foot peak. He’s done lots of other things, too. Ask him about the 75 hour long bus ride while accidentally overdosing on psychoactive malaria medication.
He identifies with the hobo lifestyle and is excited to immerse himself in and investigate an iconic subculture that has just about every trapping of a full-blown, continuously evolving autonomous civilization: language, art, music, cultural traditions, folklore, and so on. He wants to know what’s new; how it’s changing. He is 26. Email: alex.lowther[at]gmail[dot]com.
Meredith Melnick grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, central Jakarta and a few research stations in jungled areas of Indonesia, China, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Brazil. As such, she is naturally suited to the hobo lifestyle, which often entails showering infrequently and keeping an eye out for predators.
Meredith hopes to learn as much about contemporary hobo culture as possible, but most anticipates lessons from hobos themselves. She is fascinated with freight train hopping as a distinctly American tradition and wants to explore the myriad hobo networks - from conventioneers to FTRA members - that forge a path across the country. Meredith also hopes to take in a lot of hobo graffiti, music and writing along the way.
Meredith holds a B.A. in Sociology from Columbia University and has a background in magazine editing and multimedia entertainment development. Email her at meredith.melnick[at]gmail[dot]com.