The perceptions of Ghanaian individuals on the spiritual significance of African dance.
A Field Study Proposal
Statement of Intent
My Story:
In winter 2009 I experienced an African dance workshop in my modern dance class. We gathered in one large circle and moved by isolating different body parts and stepping to the drum beat. Our instructor then taught us the meaning behind each movement in a traditional African dance sequence. I was entertained through this portion of class but, when we began to explore intense grounded and rhythmic African movement across the floor I became immensely invested in the class. Our instructor would not allow us to stop moving. She mentioned that Africans dance until they are so exhausted their bodies take over. Well she succeeded in exhausting me but I began to feel rejuvenated by the movement until I could not even dream of stopping. I felt my mind and body had transcended. It became a spiritual experience for me as I danced effortlessly in gratitude for the god given miracle of my body. I have wondered ever since that workshop what it was about African movement that resonated with me and what about African dance made this experience spiritual for me? It was this experience that sparked my desire to study African dance in an authentic setting and interview Africans who could help me explore answers to these questions for myself.
My Intent:
I have chosen to participate in a BYU Field study because of its holistic focus on both a cultural and academic experience in the BYU approved international location of Ghana, Africa. I will benefit from a cultural experience when I participate and involve myself in Ghanaian culture through service, aiding in daily responsibilities and attending culture events. For my academic experience I will conduct field research on the individual Ghanaian’s perceptions on the place of spirituality in African dance.
My cultural experience will include sharing in daily activities such as cooking, cleaning, and conversing with Ghanaians. I will have the opportunity to build new relationships cross culturally that will help me better my interpersonal skills. I will have opportunities to serve in schools, homes, and community or wherever my assistance is needed or permission is given. I especially hope to volunteer in the local schools. As a dance education major I am interested in observing public education and receiving permission to practice pedagogy in a cross-cultural setting. I have taught creative dance to children for the past 3 years and am curious how a creative dance class would be managed in Ghana. I hope to build kinship maps of families I become acquainted with, receive invitations to weddings and funerals and participate in local religious services and celebrations. All these activities will help me receive a cultural education only available by traveling into the field.
Another plan I propose for my field study experience includes increasing my movement vocabulary, my musicality as a dancer and my dance accompaniment or drumming skills. This is a personal as well as academic goal I plan to achieve through dance and drumming lessons in Ghana. I am excited to focus on my dance skill because with general education requirements and theory classes I have unsatisfactory room in my schedule for technical dance training at BYU (especially for training in musicality and African dance, which aren’t offered at BYU). I plan to learn dances well enough that I can teach them to my peers and future dance students. Additionally, increased movement vocabulary will inform and inspire the 3rd part of my senior project which is a dance choreographed and presented in Winter 2011 at BYU. This project is explained in my next paragraph.
The academic portion of the experience includes my plan to conduct a study in dance ethnography, this will be the first part of my Dance Education senior project.My senior project consists of three parts: 1) field research done in Africa, 2) a final research paper, 3) a choreographed dance based on the field experience. My research will be a qualitative study based on the broad question of how Ghanaian individuals perceive spirituality in relation to African dance. In order to conceptualize my informant’s perceptions I will ask them how spirituality in dance relates to three other significant aspects of African dance, namely: identity, a sense of community and health. Therefore the research question for my project is: How do individual Ghanaians perceive spirituality in African dance connecting to health, identity and community? I will record the stories and experiences of a few key individuals who can verbalize to me how as an insider African dance affects their spirituality. I then plan to involve myself in similar dance experiences as my informants and through introspection try to pin what spiritually resonates with me. In the end this project will improve my ability to write academically about dance and spirituality as I create a final research paper on my key informant’s perceptions as well as my own to fulfill the 2nd part of my senior project.
Background and Significance
Dance Ethnography
In order to gain substantial background for my research paper and choreographed dance, as well as immerse myself in Ghanaian culture I will employ methods of dance ethnography such as interviewing and participant observation. I now give a description of the significance and challenges of dance ethnography.
Dance ethnography is a study of culture through the medium of dance. A dance ethnographer Deidre Sklar points out that “Dance ethnography depends upon the postulate that cultural knowledge is embodied in movement, especially the highly stylized and codified movement we call dance” (Sklar 1). This statement implies that movement or dance is not just the “frosting on the cake” of culture, as Kaeppler, another dance ethnographer, criticized early anthropologists of believing (Kaeppler 32). It implies that dance encodes cultural knowledge, emotions, feelings, beliefs, values and history (Sklar 1). Dance ethnographers have written to tell anthropologists that though the discipline is esoteric it has more to offer than expected. But Kaeppler argues that meaningful analysis will not occur unless more interest is taken in this area (Kaeppler 32). The majority of anthropologists are not as interested in the implications of dance on culture as I am so this statement helps validate my desire to perform dance ethnography research.
In her article “Dance in Anthropological Perspective” Kaeppler describes theories, challenges and methods of dance ethnographers. She discusses how anthropologist Franz Boas focused on rejection of “sweeping generalizations that did not account for cultural variability” (Kaeppler 33). She warned that many times the creations of other cultures are considered “primitive art,” … “subjected to Western concepts, and categorization, structure, function or aesthetics” (Kaeppler 33). Boaz’s student Joann Kealiinohomoku insisted that dance be looked at in the context of the society of which it is part (Kaeppler 34). This means research on dance should go beyond simply learning the steps. The idea that solely learning dance sequences is adequate enough for dance research and other dance research techniques have caused dance ethnographers to neglect contextual research, specifically the notation used to analyze dance in the field.
Gertrude Kurath, considered to be the parent of dance ethnography, coined the term choreoglogy to mean the “science of movement patterns” (Kaeppler 36). Creating her own notation she provided a readable way to describe and analyze dance, it could not, however, be used to recreate movement. This work, along with other field study procedures used to study the content and cultural relevance of dance, helped her demonstrate that anthropological techniques are relevant to the study of dance(Kaeppler 36). It did, however, fail to show dance research methods were equally as relevant to anthropology. The issue of notation remains a challenge in the field of dance ethnography and Kurath’s methods have been criticized by Kaeppler for not emphasizing “dance classification from the point of view of the participants themselves” (Kaeppler 36). Given the literature I’ve read it seems that pre-occupation with notating dance and movement, though academic and scientific work, often leaves behind the purpose of dance ethnography to understand the underlying cultural context and significance. Kaeppler supports this idea saying she agrees with other dance ethnographers that dance is the subject of “choreology” but “the potential contribution of dance in anthropological perspective is what dance can tell us about society and the human behavior that has generated diverse cultural systems” (Kaeppler 41).
Significance of study and location
There have been many studies done on the African continent that have successfully caught Kaeppler’s vision for dance ethnography. But there is always more to study due to the number of different regions, various styles of dance, and evolving nature of dance due to colonialism, modern globalization, and the introduction of Islamic and Christian religions. There may be a fear that these influences of change reduce the significance of African dance, but an article by Katrina Hazzard-Gordon, who studied the transformation of African dance “from its inextricable connection to religion into forms which are quite secular,” assures us that the “traditional ceremonial dances have been revived under the influence of new African governments… and that entertainment dances have incorporated aspects of the sacred and ceremonial dances” (Cox 110). Thus though there are new dances and new contexts, African dance with its traditional religious intentions is still alive and well.
Other authors, Omofolabo Soyinka Ajiayi and Judith Lynne Hanna, also confirm that despite the suppression of African dance by Christian and Islamic churches African dance still survives in many forms, even in other religious contexts (Cox 110). Hanna describes seeing dancing used in Christian churches as part of prayer (Hanna 172). In fact, the village of Wiamoase in Ghana has 6-7 different Islamic, Christian and traditional churches. This provides me an opportunity to study dance in various religious contexts. There has been little documented on this region in regards to modern perceptions of spirituality and dance thus adding significance to the purpose of my project.
Significance of African Dance: Community Unity, Identity and Health
There is much written on the significance of African dance. Many articles on this topic were written by Judith Lynne Hanna. She writes that African dance is physical, artistic, cultural, social, psychological, economical, political and communicative behavior (Hanna, 169). But based on her literature and others I would add that African dance is spiritual behavior as well. Before I can discuss the spiritual aspects of African dance though I need to share what is most commonly written as the significance or purpose of African dance in African society.
Judith Hanna writes in “African Dance: The Continuity of Change” that African dance contributes to society’s needs by “maintaining cultural patterns, managing tensions, attaining goals, adapting to the environment, and integrating members of the community” (Hanna 167). For the purpose of my research I recognize the general significance of African dance as contributing to 3 simple areas: a sense of community unity, individual identity and health. African dance is majorly used within these areas; so much that I cannot produce an exhaustive list but will mention a few in the following paragraphs.
In regards to community unity Hanna writes that African dance is used to help communities cope with death, stimulate individual involvement within a group, make work less of a chore, and display feelings of friendship or grow close to kin (Hanna 169). Katharina Shramm has also described that in a local setting in Ghana there was little distinction between performers and audience and that complete community participation and improvisation “were central features of the dance” (Shramm 8).
African dance as a tool for forming personal identity is discussed by dance ethnographers as well. Hanna writes how dance honors those in higher positions, mimics or repeats occupational behavior, emphasizes physical maturity and brings individuals through their society’s rite of passage rituals (Hanna 166-169). These dance purposes have an impact on the way Africans build their identity. As mentioned previously dance has been encouraged by African governments to revive national pride and has specifically been used in Ghana within politics. These types of dances centered on “nationalism” facilitate a personal pride for being Ghanaian or part of the Ashanti tribe. Ashanti people are very proud and believe they are the most powerful tribe in Ghana.
Much research has been done that connects African dance to mental and physical health. A study done on the effects of Hatha Yoga in comparison to African dance showed that African dance, though increasing cortisol (stress hormone) levels did give participants a perceivable amount of stress and tension reduction (West 114). Nigerian psychiatrist Dr. T. Lambo argues that a function of African dance is the prevention of depression (Hanna 169). And as we mentioned under community unity, dance helps communities cope with the psychological distress caused by crisis or trauma such as death. African dance is cathartic and provides a safety-valve to express emotion in a harmless way (Hanna 169). In some instances the stress of being married into a new family or being separated from loved ones can be dealt with by participating in possession dance (Hanna 168). Thus we see that dance contributes to feelings of health in African culture along with creating community unity, and building personal identity.
Spiritual Significance of African Dance
Now I will argue that African dance is spiritual behavior by describing what research has been written about the spiritual nature or intentions of traditional African dance. Judith Hanna says that dance is used as a form of worship in many African communities and that “worship often goes beyond prayer, quiet and solemn contemplation, to include bodily action as well” (Hanna, 169). Many of her examples and others show the significance of African dance has spiritual implications related to health, identity and community, the basic categories discussed in the section above, as well. The dancing of a tribe’s cosmology, or supernatural origins, creates an identity for community members and brings unity to the group as they identify their personal place in society. Also, dancing is often used for rituals and ancestor worship. Clarke writes, “The cult of ancestral spirits, and we might say all religious cult in Ashanti, 'is intimately bound up with the predominating desire for the fertility of man and of nature’” (Clarke 464). These spiritual rituals are often used as a means to petition blessings of health and fertility to an individual or community from the spirits of their ancestors or environment. Thus, we see that the spiritual significance of African dance effects health, personal identity and community unity.
Contextualizing Spirituality
As I’ve discussed, the nature of African dance, though still significant, has evolved and changed. Therefore, while these traditional spiritual purposes are still perceivable within the modern context of African dance there are other religions such as Islam and Christianity that influence how spirituality affects communities and individuals during dance rituals and performances. Due to the complex and vague idea of spirituality I have done research on how spirituality could be conceptualized and measured in our current era. David C. Baker helps clarify what is meant by spirituality by stating that “spirituality focuses on a belief in, or a relationship with a higher power; it is the aspect of life that gives purpose, meaning, and direction and which may encompass religion” (Baker 51).
Spirituality goes beyond religious or communal traditions. It has to do with identity and purpose in life. David Baker relayed Ellison’s belief that spirituality is the “integrative power or force that influences, and is influenced by, the psyche and the physical body” (Baker 51). Therefore dancing is a great medium for Africans to experience a spiritual connection. This spiritual connection to dance can then be a medium in which an individual can explore their identity, enjoy health benefits, and connect with their community. Hanna states that African dance attributes to a sense of solidarity within a community, and I argue that spirituality does as well (Hanna 170). Hill and Pargament, who primarily studied spirituality in relation to western religion, show how community affects spirituality by stating that “relationships are conduits through which people express their spirituality and come to know the transcendent” (Hill 69). They also give evidence of how spirituality affects community in return by giving empirical data for how religious systems support their congregation emotionally and tangibly (Hill 69).
The literature I’ve explored explains that Africans believe that there is a spiritual purpose for dance in the attainment of health and improving quality of life, whether it is through cathartic release or the reduction of psychological tension. Hill and Pargament argue in their paper that religion and spirituality directly affect a person’s health (Hill 71). The empirical studies they review show that religiousness, which they define as attending church, participating in prayer, and membership in clergy, predicts health related outcomes. They want to see research go one step further though to answer the question “why and how religion and spirituality influence health?” (Hill 72). This is a question that has been pushed aside because of the complex variables dealing with spirituality and the lack of uniform processes in research, but it is something I hope to successfully tackle by using a different research method. My unique method will be recording individual perceptions on spirituality rather than using or analyzing empirically collected data on religious activity as a measure of spirituality.
Complex as spirituality is, I believe if conceptualized and measured by the perceptions of the individual it will help provide greater insight into the place of African dance in Ashanti culture. Little research has been done on the effects of African dance on individual spirituality and few qualitative studies analyze it from the insider’s perspective. I will discuss in the following sections how I will use the methods and literature I have read thus far on the topics of dance ethnography, African dance and spirituality to create a significant project that can guarantee some meaningful results in this area.
Methodology/Procedures
In order to conduct my research on spirituality and dance I will need to build rapport with the people in the community of Wiamoase. My plans for entering the community appropriately will begin with our well respected and known hostess Esther. She can direct me to social situations and community events where I will network and meet other members of the community. By serving her and helping in the daily chores I can show her I am someone she would feel comfortable introducing to people. Building rapport and entering different social situations will help me meet a large breadth of people. Conversation with these acquaintances will direct me to informants who have more experience in dance and are willing to share their perceptions.
I will recruit most of my informants from the networks of people within religious organizations. I assume regular members of religious organizations view life through a spiritual lens and for this reason would be best suited as my informants. Because of the personal nature of spirituality and my intentions to learn dance as well as study its relationship to the individual spiritually, I will perform case studies on only a few key informants as well as myself. I will record their experiences and perceptions as well as my own as a participant observer. My participant selection will be narrowed to those easily accessible within the Wiamoase community. It will not matter what ethnicity they are and though I would prefer English speakers, because I have limited knowledge of the Twi language, I will be using a translator when needed.
Age and gender will not matter to me as much as experience with dance and a spiritual connection to movement. I will collect stories and experiences from adults and will exclude children from my study due to the in-depth nature of my planned interviews. Though I hope to interview an equal number of men and women to diversify my participant selection, gender will not be a deciding factor. Informants will be 18 years of age or older. I have decided upon this age restriction because adults generally have more experience and maturity to answer introspective questions on abstract topics like spirituality. I plan to limit my selection of participants to a minimum of 3 informants and a maximum of 5 so that I can spend adequate time with each individual.
Often, association to a religion seems to be a requirement of spirituality and so I will use religious organizations to network within to find key informants. However, I will not limit my participant selection to only those who attend a structured religious service regularly. The arenas of community dance events and the cultural center will be another place with networking opportunities to find key informants. I am already interested in building a relationship with a traditional priest in Wiamoase. His name is Okomfo Gyasi and I would love to interview him on the traditional beliefs in the Wiamoase community. Field study students in recent years have not frequently visited him but he has been visited before. I hope to rebuild rapport with him so that I might ask about his thoughts on dance and spirituality, traditional Ashanti religious practices, and the purposes of specific rituals.
The methods I will be using to record and collect the information for my project are: informal interviews, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, introspection and dance instruction for me to learn cultural dances.
Informal interviews will help me enter into the community. Conversations on the street, at churches and schools will help me network and gain an understanding of values and language used in the community. By asking lots of questions such as; “Where do people dance?” “Where can I see religious dance?” and “Do you connect with dance spirituality?” (For a list of more questions see Appendix A.) I will be able to pick up on main ideas and key places where dance is a spiritual experience. I will use the information from these encounters to direct me to the places where dance occurs and to find the people who could become my key informants.
Once I have some of the dance language and ideas down I will engage in semi-structured interviews with my key informants. I hope to spend 5 hours a week with each informant (assuming I have only 3 informants, I will reduce this time by an hour for each additional informant I recruit). I will spend 1-2 hours a week with each informant asking preplanned questions such as “Can you describe a spiritual dance experience?” “Do your family members have similar experiences or do you feel your experience is unique?” (For a list of more semi-structured interview questions see Appendix B). I hope to spend the other 2-3 hours as a participant observer or dance student alongside my informant. This way I can share a common experience with my informant that we can discuss and compare with one another in our semi-structured interviews.
Participant observation will be a large portion of my stay. I will attend as many dance events as I can and will observe the dances as an outsider and jot down my impressions. Through conversation with those at these events I will gain knowledge of the purposes of the dances. If given the opportunity, I will join in the dance and afterwards jot down reflections on the experience as an insider. In order to understand how Ghanaians feel when they are dancing I must experience their dances for myself. This will help me gain rapport as I show that I am genuinely interested in understanding what they are sharing with me and that I value their style of dance.
This leads to my last two methods of personal dance instruction and introspection. In order to learn some of the traditional dances I will ask informants to instruct me on their dances. I will then participate in religious services that involve these dances along with them so that I can record my own perceptions along with theirs.
I will now discuss my note taking and data analysis procedures. As a participant observer, dance student or interviewer I will be keeping jotted notes in a notebook and updating my daily time log to keep track of daily activities. Each night I will write in my diary and fill in missing information from my jotted notes. At the end of each week I will write out expanded notes. I will also record information through audio and video recordings of interviews and dance lessons when permission is granted and a consent form is signed. These recordings will provide me with direct quotes for final papers and to help me better learn and retain the dances I learn.
Data analysis will occur as I synthesize my notes at the end of each week on the experiences and thoughts provided to me by my few informants and my own experiences. I will keep an ongoing list of folklore “items” (vignettes, stories, dances, oral narratives, personal memories) for each participant and myself separately and report on what they each relayed to me is the spiritual significance of African dance for them personally and how it affects their health, identity and sense of community in the village.
Clifford Gertz in an article on folk narrative said that analysis is “guessing at meanings” (Adams, 29). Interviewing and collecting oral narratives is the work of folklorists and therefore I will be able to code my notes by tagging the appropriate genre of folklore (marchen, legend, folktale, myth, etc.) to each “item” helping me synthesize the similarities between the informants and guess at the meaning of these similarities.
I will also be color coding my notes to represent which “items” relate to the health, identity formation or sense of community that are significant to African dance. This analysis will be what informs the content and direction of my final papers.
Ethics and Approval
IRB approval will be requested for this project. Due to the small number of informants and the nature of my topic of research I do not foresee there being many risks. There will be no monetary compensation for participants either. However, to maximize the benefits I will do my best to refrain from becoming a burden to my host or informants by setting up a schedule when they can meet with me that works the best for them. I will also offer appropriate reciprocity at the end of each visit, be it service, friendship or other forms of reciprocity yet to be identified.
Informed consent will be obtained through written consent that I will present to my key informants after I have selected them and asked them to meet with me weekly. Before they sign the form I will give a full description of my goals and procedures for my research project. Additionally, I will have a video release form signed by participants before I record any dance lessons or interviews.
Spirituality can be a personal subject and confidentiality of learned material will be a priority during my stay as well as after my return to the states. I will keep my notebooks and journals with recorded information locked with a padlock in my luggage carrier in my room whenever they are not on my person. I will be the only one to read my materials or to know the lock combination.
Preliminary Plans for Post-field Application
This experience relates to my short term goal to live in Africa and study dance in an authentic setting. That is what I will be doing for my 3 months in Ghana. A short term academic goal related to this project is the fulfillment of the requirement for all dance education majors to complete a senior project. This dance ethnography study will serve as the first portion of my senior project. I will complete the rest of my project by enrolling in the post-field studies writing course and choreographing a dance piece in dancEnsemble based on my experiences in Ghana.
Along with presenting a choreographic dance piece in the dancEnsemble concert in winter of 2012 I hope to present at the Inquiry Conference at BYU. I would also love to present at the Dance and Religion symposium at BYU in the summer of 2012 and publish in the BYU Dance Department sponsored symposium winter 2012.
In regards to my long term goals I hope that this field study helps me better understand what I would like to do post-graduation. I want to obtain a masters degree but am unsure of the focus I would like to pursue. I enjoy dance education but am curious to see if I enjoy ethnological or cross-cultural study better. I hope this experience broadens my vision so I can formulate more concrete long term goals based on my real interests, desires and talents.
Qualifications
I have studied dance movement since I was three years old. I took Ballet Lessons for 15 years and have studied contemporary dance and various dance genres for the past 3 years at BYU. In October of 2010 I presented research on 3 different topics at the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) Annual Conference. I was the primary presenter of “Updating the Next Generation: Undergraduate students taking action to learn 21st century skills” and co-presented on a presentation discussing the blueprint for our BYU SDEO and a presentation on mentorship. This experience helped me understand the professional standard held for research findings, particularly within the field of dance.
I have interned the past three summers at Jacques and Associates in Orem, UT. We provide public involvement services for construction projects. While attending to my duties there I have learned how to document all conversations, meetings or interviews I engage in. As I don’t have a background in construction I have had to pay special attention to the language and vocabulary used by engineers and site foreman. These skills will directly benefit me as I conduct research in a new environment within a new culture where I will need to use interpersonal communication to learn and understand the vernacular and values of the surrounding culture.
In 2009 I received funding from 3 different grants I wrote requesting money to fund a full day of dance for children to experience quality dance classes. This intense writing process helped me learn to write persuasively and academically about dance.
I visited Jamaica in August 2009 for ten days and presented at the dance and the Child (daCi) International conference with BYU’s educational outreach dance company, Kinnect. We learned to connect quickly with individuals from all over the world as we danced and worked together for an entire week. This was my first experience outside the country with cross-cultural dance. I learned valuable lessons in safety, building rapport, polychromic time and dance with African dance origins.
Limitations
Time and accessibility may be two limitations I experience in the field. I hope to gain permission to many religious events but may not have enough time to build the rapport required for such invitations.
I have read and heard of dancers having difficulty learning African dance in the field. Because often times there are no dance schools or formal training for African dance, dancers are not aware of the best methods to teach African dance. This may cause some delay in my ability to learn many dances as quickly as I’d like.
My inadequacy to speak or understand the Twi language will be a challenge. I have no knowledge of the language some customary greetings. I hope to mitigate this issue by having a translator with me out in the field when needed.
Others may see my lack of knowledge of laban-notation or any other form of dance notation as a limitation. I am familiar with the basic notation and can use it in coding my notes but I am not proficient or certified in analysis that dance ethnographers have used in the past. However, reviews on the effectiveness of dance ethnographic studies have called for more focus on cultural context rather than the “science of the movement” as discussed in my literature review. Thus I feel breaking dances down movement by movement will detract from my intent to immerse myself in the culture. Therefore I will focus singly on the collection of experiences and perceptions of individuals on dance and spirituality.
One last limitation I have considered is my health. There is always a risk in entering a foreign country at high risk for malaria or other diseases. However, I have dealt with other health issues in recent years that could be potential limitations. I have struggled with Hashimotos Thyroiditis, Allergies and chronic fatigue and tight muscles. These issues are resolved at the moment and I am doing my best to keep them at bay but there is always the possibility that culture shock and a foreign diet could upset my body’s ecology. In order to prevent this from happening I am currently introducing more starches into my diet and working with a nutritional counselor to plan the best way to supplement my diet while in the field with multivitamins. Hopefully this along with appropriate attention to rest and exercise in the field will aid in keeping my immune system strong and my body healthy.
Faculty Mentors and Coursework
My primary mentor will be Karen Jensen. She will mentor me while I am in the field as I complete course work for my Senior Capstone Project (Senior Project) and Dance 500R. (The breakdown of my senior project is listed in my intent section.) She has traveled to Mampong, Ghana in the past, which is just above Wiamoase, to work with children at a deaf School. I will be the second student she mentors on a Ghana Field study with a specific interest in studying dance. She will make a great mentor with this previous mentoring experience and her enthusiasm for the project.
Ric Chitwood is the dance department’s musical director. He teaches dance majors how to play the African Djembe Drum and accompany dancers in “Music for Dancers” and “Dance Accompaniment”. I have taken Music for Dancers with Ric and will be working with him while in the field on receiving credit for Dance Accompaniment. For this course I will write three, two-page papers on my experience with drumming lessons in Ghana and three write ups on interviews I have with drummers. I will also video record an opportunity I have to accompany dancers with a drum.
I will be receiving credit for English 391 “Introduction to Folklore” with Jacqueline Thursby as my mentor. She has mentored many students traveling abroad interested in this course and loves working with students. The course work for this class will include reviewing a book on folklore and reading a book on folklore specific to my field work location. Then while in the field I will keep a collection of folklore “items” and use them to write a 8-10 page paper on the topic of spirituality found within these different folklore items. I will finish the course by turning in a project next January to Professor Thursby that includes the items, consent forms, and paper.
The final course I will be receiving credit for is the 3 credit IAS course offered by the field studies office. It will include a range of assignments that help me enter the community and experience different social situations. This course will prevent me from spending all my time only focused on situations that fit my research purposes so that my field study experience truly is holistic and not just academic.
Schedule
| Activity | Deadline |
| Submission of Proposal | June 13, 2011 |
| IRB Submission | June 20, 2011 |
| Course Contracts Due | July 15, 2011 |
| Tuition Deadline for Fall 2011 | July 29, 2011 |
| Departure | September 5, 2011 |
| Week 1 | Assimilation, IAS Assignments 1 & 2, 3 Folklore Items |
| Week 2 | Find Key Informants and network within schools, churches and cultural center. IAS Assignment 3 & 4, 3 Folklore Items |
| Week 3 | 3 Interviews, 3 Dance Studies, IAS Assignment 5 & 6, 3 Folklore Items, any dance events are available to observe. |
| Week 4 | 3 Interviews, 3 Dance Studies, IAS Assignments 7, 3 Folklore Items, any dance events are available to observe. |
| Week 5 | 3 Interviews, 3 Dance Studies, IAS Assignments 8, 3 Folklore Items, any dance events are available to observe. |
| Week 6 | 3 Interviews, 3 Dance Studies, IAS Assignment 9, 3 Folklore Items, any dance events are available to observe. |
| Week 7 | Mid Semester Retreat |
| Week 8 | 3 Interviews, 3 Dance Studies, IAS Assignment 10, 3 Folklore Items, any dance events are available to observe. |
| Week 9 | 3 Interviews, 3 Dance Studies, IAS Assignments 11, 3 Folklore Items, any dance events are available to observe. |
| Week 10 | 3 Interviews, 3 Dance Studies, IAS Assignment 12, 3 Folklore Items, any dance events are available to observe. |
| Week 11 | 3 Interviews, 3 Dance Studies, 3 Folklore Items, any dance events are available to observe. |
| Week 12 | Final interviews and closure. Preparation to Leave |
| Depart Ghana | December 5, 2011 |
| Dance Accomp. Coursework | December 20, 2011 |
| Dance 500R | December 20, 2011 |
| IAS Field Studies Cultural Ethnography Coursework | January 18, 2012 |
| Folklore Project Due | January 13, 2012 |
| Final paper due | April 15, 2012 |
Budget
Here is an estimation of the costs that I foresee being responsible for with this field study experience. I have already purchased my plane ticket and have tuition covered by the T.H. Bell Incentive Loan. I have also been awarded a half tuition scholarship from the dance department and other scholarship funds from the Miss Farmington Scholarship Pageant. I am also applying for the ISP scholarship to help cover in-country costs and the purchasing of a video camera and audio recorder for the collection of data.
Travel Expenses
Flight $1,584.00
Visa $60.00
In-country $200.00
Lodging/Food $600.00
Immunizations $200.00
Tuition $2,280.00
Books and other materials $100.00
Recording Equipment $150.00
Reciprocity Gifts $20.00
TOTAL $5,194.00
Work Cited
Adams, Linda Kinsey. The Emergence of Folklore in Everyday Life. Trickster Press, 2008. 23-31. Print.
Baker, David C. "Studies of the Inner Life: The Impact of Spirituality on Quality of Life." Quality of life
research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation 12 Suppl 1: 51.
Clarke, Edith. "The Sociological Significance of Ancestor-Worship in Ashanti." Africa: Journal of the International African Institute 3.4 (1930): pp. 431-471.
Cox, James L., and Kariamu Welsh Asante. "African Dance: An Artistic, Historical and Philosophical
Inquiry." Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research 18.1: 108.
Hanna, Judith Lynne. "African Dance: The Continuity of Change." Yearbook of the International Folk Music Council 5: 165-74.
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Sklar, Deidre. "On Dance Ethnography." Dance Research Journal 23.1: 6-10.
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Appendices
Appendix A: Primary Faculty Mentor Form
Appendix B: Course Contracts
Appendix C: Informal Interview Questions and Semi-Structured Interview Questions
Appendix D: Address and Title of Online Portfolio
Appendix E: IRB/IACUC Approval Letter and Application
Appendix C
Informal Interview Questions
Listed below are some grand-tour, descriptive and basic how, what, when, where, why questions that I might ask new acquaintances and contacts in the community. By asking these questions I hope to recognize who would be a suitable informant for my research as well as other social situations where I might find new contacts and perspectives.
Do you Dance?
Can you describe a dance experience you’ve had?
Can you describe the people you dance with?
Where do you Dance?
Do you go to Church?
Do you dance at Church?
How did you learn how to dance?
Have you ever taught someone to dance?
Do you ever dance solo? In a group?
When do you dance?
How often do you dance?
Why do you dance?
What is the purpose or significance of a particular dance?
What is the purpose or significance of dance in your life?
Do you ever speak with others about the significance of dance? When? How often? With who?
How does dance affect your life?
Does dance have a spiritual impact on your life?
Semi-Structured Interview Questions
Once key informants are decided upon and consent is obtained I will ask my informants more specific and in depth questions. These questions will vary and depend on the individual and their answers to the previous questions asked during informal interviews but listed below are some possible examples.
Can you describe how you feel during a particular dance?
What does spirituality mean to you?
Define spirituality.
Define dance.
Can you identify a spiritual experience you’ve had while dancing?
Is dance always a spiritual experience?
Are specific conditions required for a spiritual experience within dance?
What is it about dance that you feel is personally spiritual to you?
What are the technical aspects of dance that connect with you spiritually?
What are you connecting too spiritually?
What is required to dance at a religious ceremony?
Do you believe everyone can connect spiritually to dance or is that role only for certain individuals?
Does dance impact your health?
Does religion or spirituality impact your health?
Does dance impact your sense of community unity?
Does religion or spirituality impact your community unity?
Does dance impact your identity?
Does religion and spirituality impact your community unity?
Do dance and spirituality together impact you health? Community unity? Identity?
Where do you believe Man came from?
Where do you believe men go after death?
What do your dances say about your village?
Are your ancestors connected to your dancing? Spirituality?
Appendix D
Online Portfolio
Title: Daring to Dream, Daring to Dance in Ghana, Africa
Address: http://heathersfieldstudyprep.blogspot.com/
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