Dance Anthropology

If you want to understand a nation, look at its dances and listen to its folk songs -

 don't pay any attention to its politicians.

Agnes De Mille

Theory is a supposition to explain a situation or a course of events. It is based on a set of principles that are usually independent of the subject under study. Historical criticism is the historical approach which involves understanding the events and experiences surrounding the composition of the work, especially the life of the author, and using the findings to interpret that work of literature. Alan Dundes says that is the functions that Folkore perform in society that has let it survive this long. Folklore as a Counter Discourse is when we question the legal and judicial discourse that were predominantly been fixed by people in power. Palace Paradigm is the notion that a lot of discourses produced were from the palace - people in power. Eventually so, the discourses of the subjects either had to align with the dominant course and fade away.  

The article The Coloniality of Folklore focuses on providing correctives to elitism, distance and Nostalgia; to characterise perspectives on vernacular cultural Forms; looks at notion of traditionality/coloniality, Colonial Folkloristics, exoticism, missionaries and civil servants.It stresses how Colonialism is hardly absent from history of folkloristics. Thus, disciplinary and interdisciplinary work is important. The seminar also touched upon Colonialism and Transmission: At the Crossroad of Folklore and Culture by Dr. Sanjib Goswami, Father of Tamil Folk Mr N Vanamaamalai and Folklore in Colonial karnataka: Representing a Genuine Native View by Vijayakumar M. Boratti.  

Ethnography

The transcription of the interviews with Puliyattam (Tiger Dance) dancers.

Capstone project - Folklore in Context

January 2024 - May 2024

The Capstone Project Folklore in Context has led to exponential growth in my research aptitude, through seminar coursework, paper presentations and research components while simultaneously honing my application quotient through podcast, website, field visit and internship.

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