A professor told me that you shouldn’t do what you do unless you believe it can change the world.
And I do.
Another once told me that so long as you follow your heart, it will lead you to the right place.
So I will.
There is a proverb that says if you jump off of a cliff, a net will appear.
I believe it.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Why we do what we do/ taking advantage of guaranteed high speed internet
I often have people ask me what exactly I’m doing in Ethiopia. The simple answer is I’m doing fieldwork for my master’s thesis, which is basically that music plays an important role in the act of pilgrimage.
Then people ask, “Well what’s your Master’s degree in?”
To which I respond, “Musicology, but with an emphasis on ethnomusicology.”
I get mixed reactions, ranging from interest or genuine curiosity to curt and/or slightly confused “hmphs.”
To some extent, it’s understandable. It’s not something like, say mathematics or biology, long established and, at least in our culture, firmly viewed as a respectable and worthwhile field of study. In fact, the sciences in general in the West are regarded with a reverence so high that many equate science with knowledge.
But science is not knowledge, it is a method, and while unquestionably useful, worthwhile, and valuable as an epistemological approach, it is not infallible. It is full of theories, and through the centuries we can see how what was cutting edge scientifically in the 19th century (such as for example, how we conceive an atom) has now been refined, and we can expect that what we take for fact today might be viewed as archaic a century from now.
This is the whole point of science- to test and refine ideas to bring us closer to the truth. But we should’t confuse current scientific thinking with absolute truth.
In fact, some scientists, like Popper and Feynman, stressed the importance of trying to disprove ideas, rather than to “prove” something. Unfortunately, research funding being as it is, there is often and agenda associated with experimentation that favors “proving” an idea rather than attempting to disprove.
In any case, science is an awesome tool for understanding the world around us. One of many.
Another equally important tool is testimony. Think about it- almost everything we know, we know because someone told us- whether we read it in a book, heard it on the news, or learned a lesson from our parents’ words, the bulk of our knowledge rests on communicative messages of those around us.
The goals of scientists and ethnographers are very similar (to understand, to gain knowledge), and differ primarily in method. Ethnography heavily utilizes testimony to learn more about the world around us- to bring us closer to the truth, to gain knowledge, to understand. Music is one way of communicating things, listening a method of discovery.
Actually, the entire constructed world is sending us messages. Take food for example- What does a box of chicken nuggets that come in a container specially designed and mass produced to hold the dipping sauce (to allow for dipping ease for an individual while driving) tell us about culture as opposed to an Ethiopian restaurant, in which separating orders might cause confusion for the wait staff (eating is a community activity), and food is served what we call family style, with everyone using their injera to scoop up a little bit of the communal food?
If we can learn something about culture by the way the way we box our chicken nuggets, how much can we learn by exploring music and the way it functions in society?
So what am I doing? I am traveling to another country, one I have studied and read books about, but still have a lot to learn about. I am going to be meeting with priests, musicians, and others involved with the Ethiopian Church. I am going to listen, record conversations, and their music, which together are forms of testimony, in order to seek truth and greater understanding.
Then people ask, “Well what’s your Master’s degree in?”
To which I respond, “Musicology, but with an emphasis on ethnomusicology.”
I get mixed reactions, ranging from interest or genuine curiosity to curt and/or slightly confused “hmphs.”
To some extent, it’s understandable. It’s not something like, say mathematics or biology, long established and, at least in our culture, firmly viewed as a respectable and worthwhile field of study. In fact, the sciences in general in the West are regarded with a reverence so high that many equate science with knowledge.
But science is not knowledge, it is a method, and while unquestionably useful, worthwhile, and valuable as an epistemological approach, it is not infallible. It is full of theories, and through the centuries we can see how what was cutting edge scientifically in the 19th century (such as for example, how we conceive an atom) has now been refined, and we can expect that what we take for fact today might be viewed as archaic a century from now.
This is the whole point of science- to test and refine ideas to bring us closer to the truth. But we should’t confuse current scientific thinking with absolute truth.
In fact, some scientists, like Popper and Feynman, stressed the importance of trying to disprove ideas, rather than to “prove” something. Unfortunately, research funding being as it is, there is often and agenda associated with experimentation that favors “proving” an idea rather than attempting to disprove.
In any case, science is an awesome tool for understanding the world around us. One of many.
Another equally important tool is testimony. Think about it- almost everything we know, we know because someone told us- whether we read it in a book, heard it on the news, or learned a lesson from our parents’ words, the bulk of our knowledge rests on communicative messages of those around us.
The goals of scientists and ethnographers are very similar (to understand, to gain knowledge), and differ primarily in method. Ethnography heavily utilizes testimony to learn more about the world around us- to bring us closer to the truth, to gain knowledge, to understand. Music is one way of communicating things, listening a method of discovery.
Actually, the entire constructed world is sending us messages. Take food for example- What does a box of chicken nuggets that come in a container specially designed and mass produced to hold the dipping sauce (to allow for dipping ease for an individual while driving) tell us about culture as opposed to an Ethiopian restaurant, in which separating orders might cause confusion for the wait staff (eating is a community activity), and food is served what we call family style, with everyone using their injera to scoop up a little bit of the communal food?
If we can learn something about culture by the way the way we box our chicken nuggets, how much can we learn by exploring music and the way it functions in society?
So what am I doing? I am traveling to another country, one I have studied and read books about, but still have a lot to learn about. I am going to be meeting with priests, musicians, and others involved with the Ethiopian Church. I am going to listen, record conversations, and their music, which together are forms of testimony, in order to seek truth and greater understanding.
Friday, October 26, 2007
the backpack
We're about to head off (by car) for Dallas for a couple of days before our flight leaves. Here's what I'm taking with me:
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Packing
Oh I do hope I don't forget anything, although I don't see how I possibly could have, given the number of times I have triple-checked.
What She Carried With Her:
In the backpack:
Medicines (anti-diarrhea (I got a hep A vaccine, but you never know), anti-allergy, and ibprofen).
a couple of extra plastic bags
a notebook, 5 moleskine cashiers, and 2 lined small reporter-type notebooks.
toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, soap (body and clothes washing) deodorant, wet-wipes, and anti-bacterial hand gel)
Clothing Wise:
3 long sleeved shirts, 3 short sleeved, 2 tank tops
2 pants
1 running outfit (I worked too hard to work up to running 10+ miles at a time to get out of shape while I'm there!)
Chacos and I'll be wearing Running Shoes on the plane, since they take up more room.
...and underwear of course. Oh, and 3 pairs of socks.
In the Carry-on
Passport,visa, plane info, traveler's cheques, a little cash, and a small notebook/journal.
Fieldwork related:
Camera & memory cards, Video Camera, two audio recorders (one battery powered voice recorder, and one you charge and is better for recording music), small t mike, laptop, and portable hardrive (just in case) and extra batteries and chargers for everything. Whew! I think this bag actually weighs more than my backpack. But I don't really see how I could cut back and still feel good about it. At least I'm not carrying, say, wax cylinders or stacks of tapes. It could definitely be worse.
And the extra items: Having made connection with Gebre at the Hope Orphanage, I asked if there was anything they needed, then passed the request on to my friend to see what would happen. What happened (so far) was 36 lbs. of clothing and another 25 of notebooks, pens, and first aid supplies. I love the people of West Texas, especially Mrs. You Know Who, who brought an incredible amount of brand-spanking new clothing for the kids at the orphanage. Bless you, and I can't wait to hand over the goods to the orphanage. So much for packing light, but I think it will be worth it. Luckily J is a light packer, so we're well within our overall weight limits.
Pictures: http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd63/sgbrinker/Ethiopia/
Monday, October 15, 2007
2 weeks to go!
Right now it's hard to believe that I'll be in Africa two weeks from now. I've been doing a lot of reading, about Ethiopia and about Ethnography.
To some extent, you can't learn how to do ethnography by reading about it, but I have learned a lot by reading The Ethnographic Interview by James Spradley. 
He actually has a step by step method, and breaks down different types of questions to ask. Another good one was Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. I also liked parts of The Professional Stranger, by Agar, who is really good about putting humor into his writing.
My biggest concern right now is that I just won't have enough time to do everything I want to do in Africa. I wish I could stay for an entire year. However, I'm going to do the best I can with the time I have, and I am excited about the opportunity to learn about another culture.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Preparing for Departure
Countdown to departure date: 3 weeks and four days. I will be traveling to Mekele, Ethiopia, and Axum, Ethiopia, to study music in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. I'll be making videos, taking photographs, making audio recordings, and learning as much as possible.
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