Sunday, May 16, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
reflection on Gullah trip-St Helena Island
well, I was lucky enaough to have been invited on the trip with UNF...kinda like a chaparone, only...hum...anyway this was a life changing experience for me. Life changing may be a loaded term but the trip definetly reconfirmed what a comunal and traditional lifestyle has to offer. The Gullah Geeche have lived for centuries on these sea islands, they have been the primary cultivators and stewards to these beautiful and ecologically significant landscapes. They have given the Historical paradigms of the South as well as the plantation ideology a voice that exposes the disjuncture in tourism and representation of the fantasy South.
Three things- FOOD, SEWING (double meaning), FAMILY
It is impossible not to find these aspects in Gullah life.
God bless the Gullah Geeche Nation.
Three things- FOOD, SEWING (double meaning), FAMILY
It is impossible not to find these aspects in Gullah life.
God bless the Gullah Geeche Nation.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Forgive this unfurling of thought which may or may not be but minimally connected to the course material.
It seems to me that the United States, as a location of study, is conspicuously absent from postcolonial discourse. Yes, America is and was an empire, but it was also a colony. I know I have much more reading to do, but if what I have read could be considered at least a representative sample then the postcolonial seems to be relegated to the east, the third world, and the other.
Is it because after winning independence the colonizers did not retreat? Is the US unique as a postcolonial nation? Is the native population as invisible elsewhere as they are here?
The common inheritance of postcoloniality is a Western political structure, a stratification of hybrid and native populations, and more than their share of ethnic strife brought about by the intake of foreign labor and the uneven doling of economic and political resources. America is no exception to this, but has inherited something else. What it is would take much more thought than this blog post could warrant.
The American Revolution was not so much repulsion of the colony and crown, but rather mitosis that disjoined to two without destroying either. If it written in myth it would be not unlike Romulus and Remus birthed from Zeus's imperial headache. And the process of nation-making does require the use of myth.
How does this postcolonial gaze affect the comprehension of course material and experience? Well, at this point we are all postcolonial subjects. Are the problems experienced by the Gullah communities on Wadamlaw, Sapelo, and the other Sea Islands caused by a nested coloniality that operates transparently? The development of "plantation" communities are like colonies themselves. They disrupt the original communities ability to subsist self-sufficiently, forcing the native Sea Islanders into menial wage labor, while also opening up new markets to national and international corporations.
The sense of community on St. Helena was impressive in its implementation of cosmology to adapt and maintain itself. The bartering of resources and talent to accomplish tasks so that money can be used toward the increasing land taxes, the pooling of money by families to purchase their lands, the physical layout of those family compounds; all show how the West African circle cosmogram represents continuity and interconnection between the individual, the family, and the community.
It seems to me that the United States, as a location of study, is conspicuously absent from postcolonial discourse. Yes, America is and was an empire, but it was also a colony. I know I have much more reading to do, but if what I have read could be considered at least a representative sample then the postcolonial seems to be relegated to the east, the third world, and the other.
Is it because after winning independence the colonizers did not retreat? Is the US unique as a postcolonial nation? Is the native population as invisible elsewhere as they are here?
The common inheritance of postcoloniality is a Western political structure, a stratification of hybrid and native populations, and more than their share of ethnic strife brought about by the intake of foreign labor and the uneven doling of economic and political resources. America is no exception to this, but has inherited something else. What it is would take much more thought than this blog post could warrant.
The American Revolution was not so much repulsion of the colony and crown, but rather mitosis that disjoined to two without destroying either. If it written in myth it would be not unlike Romulus and Remus birthed from Zeus's imperial headache. And the process of nation-making does require the use of myth.
How does this postcolonial gaze affect the comprehension of course material and experience? Well, at this point we are all postcolonial subjects. Are the problems experienced by the Gullah communities on Wadamlaw, Sapelo, and the other Sea Islands caused by a nested coloniality that operates transparently? The development of "plantation" communities are like colonies themselves. They disrupt the original communities ability to subsist self-sufficiently, forcing the native Sea Islanders into menial wage labor, while also opening up new markets to national and international corporations.
The sense of community on St. Helena was impressive in its implementation of cosmology to adapt and maintain itself. The bartering of resources and talent to accomplish tasks so that money can be used toward the increasing land taxes, the pooling of money by families to purchase their lands, the physical layout of those family compounds; all show how the West African circle cosmogram represents continuity and interconnection between the individual, the family, and the community.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Charleston, Kingsly, Hunting Island/Beaufort!
The entire TLO experience has been both fascinating and educational. I have learned so much about the Gullah/Geechee, and being able to connect the reading in the classroom setting, to actual people, has been an awesome learning experience!
The Charleston trip was long and packed with so much information that when I came back, I was so exhausted and my brain hurt! We were fortunate enough, to get a Gullah tour through Charleston and getting a glimpse into their culture from someone that actually is apart of the community was very informative. My favorite portion of the tour was seeing all of Philip Simmons gates, and iron work. I am just so amazed that even though he has passed his little workshop in the middle of an area where police cars were lining the streets still exists and we were able to see it! I had never heard about him, but I'm definitely a fan of his work, my camping group even incorporated his work into our Team name and Motto! The Middleton Plantation Tour was also interesting, hearing from a different perspective, however more time to explore the plantation would have been nice.
Kingsly was a quaint little place. I didn't get as much as out of this trip as I did the others, it was pretty much a summary of everything I had already learned, but still helped to create a foundation for understanding the Gullah/Geechee, as well as the plantation owners culture.
The Hunting Island camping trip was definitely the most amazing experience we have had! Not only were we able to get to know the people in our class better, but we were also able to experience the Gullah/Geechee in a whole new way. Meeting Queen Quet was phenomenal, she has such a commanding presence! My favorite portion of the trip was doing all the workshops, watching an 86 year old man make a casting net, making mini strip quilts, and participating in poly-rhythms! Queen Quet's tour through Beaufort was also very informative! I loved it! Learning about her people and her story from her was so much better than reading it in an article written by some other person! I also ate okra and bread pudding... definitely not my normal choice of foods, but it was all apart of the experience :)
Pictures will be coming soon!
The Charleston trip was long and packed with so much information that when I came back, I was so exhausted and my brain hurt! We were fortunate enough, to get a Gullah tour through Charleston and getting a glimpse into their culture from someone that actually is apart of the community was very informative. My favorite portion of the tour was seeing all of Philip Simmons gates, and iron work. I am just so amazed that even though he has passed his little workshop in the middle of an area where police cars were lining the streets still exists and we were able to see it! I had never heard about him, but I'm definitely a fan of his work, my camping group even incorporated his work into our Team name and Motto! The Middleton Plantation Tour was also interesting, hearing from a different perspective, however more time to explore the plantation would have been nice.
Kingsly was a quaint little place. I didn't get as much as out of this trip as I did the others, it was pretty much a summary of everything I had already learned, but still helped to create a foundation for understanding the Gullah/Geechee, as well as the plantation owners culture.
The Hunting Island camping trip was definitely the most amazing experience we have had! Not only were we able to get to know the people in our class better, but we were also able to experience the Gullah/Geechee in a whole new way. Meeting Queen Quet was phenomenal, she has such a commanding presence! My favorite portion of the trip was doing all the workshops, watching an 86 year old man make a casting net, making mini strip quilts, and participating in poly-rhythms! Queen Quet's tour through Beaufort was also very informative! I loved it! Learning about her people and her story from her was so much better than reading it in an article written by some other person! I also ate okra and bread pudding... definitely not my normal choice of foods, but it was all apart of the experience :)
Pictures will be coming soon!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Kingsley Plantation - 3/06/10
It was a very lovely afternoon as we made our way towards Heritage Days at Kingsley Plantation. One thing I noticed immediately after we turned onto the incredibly long dirt road that wound through the woods, was that there were several large houses built to either side. I was very curious about this. Who lived in these houses? Were they connected to the planation somehow? Were they related to Kingsley? We were running a few minutes late and by the time we arrived at the old (tabby) barn, and Dr. Hargrove had already begun her presentation. There was a much larger crowd than I had expected to see. One thing I've learned so far in this course is to never underestimate people's interest in "Plantation Life". The audience seemed engaged, one woman was nodding vigorously and humming her agreement with everything Dr. Hargove said. After the presentation was brought to an uncerimonius end by the park's director, there were several questions about Gullah culture. Dr. Davidson's presentation on archaeology at Kingsley was next. He discussed the archaeological history of the planation first, originating in 1968 with Dr. Charles Fairbanks. He then discussed how his own work had led to the discovery of African cultural elements in Kingsley's pre-emancipation archaeological record. One I found particularly interesting was the discovery of a chicken carcass, ritually buried with an iron concretion in the doorway of a slave cabin. Iron concretions and iron tools were often ritually buried under homes in west Africa as a tribute to Ogoun, a principle god of the Yoruba people. I thought his work was very interesting and extremely relevant to the history of Africanisms and Gullah culture in Jacksonville. We took a short walking tour through the remains of Kingsley's slave cabins and Dr. Davidson pointed out where a few of the more signifigant archaeological finds had been made.
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| Kingsley Plantation |
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Charleston
The trip to Charleston was quite an eye opening experience for me. I had never been to a plantation prior to this trip, so it unique and quite disconcerting. It took quite a bit of reflection for me to see how little the African American focus tour showed and through discussions with friends outside of class, how much plantations are romanticized and how big of a problem this actually is. I found the plantation tour to be disappointing, but the Gullah Tour was INCREDIBLE!
Recently, I was discussing this trip as well as the trip to Kingsley with two of my friends that are education majors. One is currently doing her internship at a local high school in one of the poorer sections of the city. She is planning on becoming a history teacher, is of Haitian descent, and has been to several plantations. Discussions with her have really opened my eyes to popular opinions regarding these historic sites. She feels that plantations are beautiful, exciting, and essentially a "fun time". I think this is part of the problem. People don't realize or are unwilling to accept the historic, and often painful, past of plantations and see only the outward beauty. This confuses me...it is not as though you would go to Auschwitz for a tour and talk about how amazing it is....
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Summer Field School at Kingsley will search for Cemetery
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/davidson/kingsley.htm
Above is the link (although I can't seem to make it clickable as of yet) to the information about the upcoming Archaeology Field School at Kingsley (where they will search for "long lost slave cemetery")... check it out...
Above is the link (although I can't seem to make it clickable as of yet) to the information about the upcoming Archaeology Field School at Kingsley (where they will search for "long lost slave cemetery")... check it out...
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