Engaging the Ethnographic Imagination: Anthropology of Gullah/Geechee
Dr. Melissa D. Hargrove
University of North Florida, Spring 2010
In 2008, I applied for a University TLO (Transformational Learning Opportunity) Grant to fund community engagement activities for a select group of students -- in order to share a handful of my own transformative experiences conducting anthropological research among the Gullah/Geechee. Join us as we visit:
CHARLESTON, SC to see first-hand how heritage politics and tourism agendas shape our common sense notions of history at the intersection of race and space;
KINGSLEY PLANTATION in Duval County FL, to vocalize the muted significance of Gullah/Geechee ancestors as the builders, creators, and repositories of knowledge that made the region rich-- using anthropological puzzle pieces to firmly situate Northeast Florida as the anchor of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor;
ST. HELENA ISLAND, SC, just off the coast of Beaufort, to engage in dialogue and educational workshops with community leaders, elders, artisans, entrepreneurs, and musicians (and maybe even a few deer during our camping trip to Hunting Island); and
DOWNTOWN JACKSONVILLE-- into the heart of our fair city of the New South... to discover a majestic black world that only remains in pictures, songs, and scattered memories-- yet offers a fertile and deserving landscape right at our backdoor where the lessons of this journey may be of use in our efforts to learn from the past and create a better future for us all.
