Current Institutional Affiliation
Assistant Professor, Anthropology and Sociology, Spelman College
Award Information
International Dissertation Research Fellowship 2001
Institutional Affiliation (at time of award):
Anthropology, University of Iowa
Shaping Creolization and Folklorization Processes: Expressive Culture and Creole Identity in St. Lucia and the Seychelles
The proposed comparative research investigates ways in which social actors negotiate identities and their public expression in two creolephone island societies, St. Lucia in the Caribbean and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. By examining instances of two specific processes of cultural change-'creolization' and 'folklorization'-the project seeks to determine how actors attempt to shape processes of cultural change and postcolonial identity formation. The ethnography focuses on the use of music and dance in 'everyday' contexts, and in the context of festivals and heritage tourism exhibitions that celebrate creole heritage and identity.