Okay, so my last journal entry was lame (I know), but I needed to express my feelings so then I could get to work! I've been really productive the last day or two in trying to read many more articles. Two of the articles really, really helped me!
"However did they help you, Corrine?"
Well, that is a very good question. African dance has been a very well researched topic, especially in Ghana. This I was worried about and it seems like my topic-- the changing of dance in relation to post-colonialism in Ghana has been researched. The two articles I read today not only allowed me to see what was already written on this subject but it brought up some questions.
Their titles are (just so you know they are real articles): "Developing the Arts for Development: Perspectives on Ghana" by Sandra E. Greene. AND "Africa's New Traditional Dance" by Judith Lynne Hanna.
The change in Ghanaian dance has already been studied and the conclusions were similar to what I had been thinking: that is was colonialism, education, religion, etc that were all factors in changing dance ideology. how Hanna did focus on Africa as a whole therefore, I felt like some of her conclusions might not apply to Ghana; this is one of my thoughts, I could look at what she concluded and see if it applies to Ghana.
It felt like she focused on more urban areas, ones with lots of Western influences... different from Wiamose. The community in Wiamose, from what I understand, still has a lot of traditional roots. The Western influences aren't as strong. The way Hanna wrote her article made her conclusions sound as if colonialism was the root of ALL changes in dance: it was the Western religions, education systems, transportation systems that caused the major shift. Honestly, from what I've read/know about Ghana... I"m not sure that really applies to Ghana.
However, the first article I mentioned, by Greene, was very insightful in basic history of Ghana since it's independence in 1957. The arts went through a drastic with Nkrumah and than again with Rawlings. The government was getting too involved basically.
Anyhoo, sorry.... this is becoming too much of a review. The ideas/questions I derived from my readings were:
1. perhaps I could focus on the Ghanaian culture versus the specific ethnic culture in Wiamose-- are they competing with one another? have they blended nicely?
This will still go along with the effects that the Ghanaian Independence had on dance but just looking at it in a more specific light to the rural areas. I know that was something I needed to get more specific on because a lot of my readings either had to do with urban areas or with Africa in general.
2. I've been toying on the idea of changing the emphasis of my study.... so that I could study something that hasn't been researched before but I realized two things:
a. that I still haven't found too much about Ghana specifically, so I will be providing very specific information not just about Ghana but about Wiamose and dance in a rural town.
b. I still have questions about how independence affected all of Ghana, that haven't been answered in my research. so..... that's a good sign.
3. In one of the earlier learning journals, I mentioned that my readings have affected how I want to conduct my research. How did they? I'm going to have to interview A LOT more people than I originally thought... and I think I'm going to have to interview the oldest generations. This widened my age range as well as my methods for extracting information from them.... let's just say that the older generations aren't as open and willing to talk as the younger generations are... and they speak MUCH less English; that means I'm going to need to practice my Twi A LOT A LOT and keep in mind that I'll need a translator.
4. ???
to be continued....
I think it would help a lot to think about what you mean by the term "change". Are you looking at changes in ideas about dance, the place of dance in day-to-day social events, how dance is taught or learned, changes in dance patterns or styles, changes in the occasions when dance is used, changes in who dances, who dances, when they dance... this is just my first response on reading your journal entry. The term "change" can be somewhat nebulous. Have you thought about how to define it a little better? Doing that may allow you to research the same subjetc (dance) that other scholars have, but in your own way. I think it makes a lot of sense that changes would be a lot different, perhaps more drastic in urban settings, but I think you can probably get some great ideas from these articles on how to design your methods, and what to look for, specifically, in Wiamoses, which as you say, will be very different from a more urban area of Ghana. In Response to 1. How would you focus on "Ghanaian culture" while conducting research in Wiamoese, do you think there are some conclusions you could make in your research that would be applicable to all of Ghana? How could you design a research question/program to do this? What problems or concerns do you think there would be in doing this?
ReplyDeleteIts great that you've chosen a topic you seem enthusiastic about! I would say not to get rid of your topic just yet, keep reading and it will start to make sense. Think about the big picture, and let your readings guide your thoughts. Don't forget to take time to reflect on what the authors are really saying, and what it means for you. Sounds like you're doing a good job of that already! You're gonna be awesome.
Also: Consider including observations of dance in your methods, and maybe even learning some dances yourself! It could really open your eyes to what dance means to the ppl in Wiamose!
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