Preparatory Tasks: Build web-based academic journal Read books and articles relevant to my research inquiry Confirm travel plans and accommodation arrangements Research events and purchase tickets Budget and document expected financial expenses
Page 32 of 35
Make online academic journal.
Things I need to do before I leave this spring:
Book flights
- I’ve booked all the flights I need to get to my destinations and get back home.
- Seattle – Dublin
- Dublin – Edinburgh
- Edinburgh – Paris
- Paris – Dublin
- Dubllin – Seattle
Find Lodging
- I’ve booked a great hostel in Dublin right near all the action called Isaac’s! And they have guitars you can borrow to practice with!
- And so far I have two of the seven nights in Scotland. In Edinburgh I booked at this little backpackers hostel in the downtown area called the High Street Hostel.
“Articulating the connection between music and the outer world remains devilishly difficult. Musical meaning is vague, mutable, and, in the end, deeply personal. Still, even if history can never tell us exactly what music means, music can tell us something about history.”
– The Rest is Noise, Ross
The thing about New Orleans is that it is so rich in history, architecture, food, people, and music. The streets are steeped in a history of influences from Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and more. The more research I do on this city, the more excited I am to immerse myself in the soundscape of a new place. As I investigate the influence of music in this city, I expect to listen to a lot of live music, all over the city. I plan to walk into every music venue that I come across, taking note of the what the music tells me about the history of New Orleans. This investigation is not about objective listening, in fact I’m not quite sure that exists, but it is about listening and really hearing – allowing myself to hear the parts and the details, in constant search for something I haven’t heard before – working to identify the origin of the sounds.
I’ve dreamt of visiting New Orleans for years. I love jazz, I love food, and I love going to places that are different than what I know. New Orleans embodies all of the above. I am going to be transparent when I say that I am going into this dream with a lot of expectation. I have a pre-conceived idea of what I think the city is going to look like, sound like, taste like and even smell like. I am not worried that I am going to disappointed, but I think it is really important for me to be taking note of my expectations and how they affect my experience throughout the trip. Being aware of what I am bringing to this new experience will help me to set them aside and be present. I am fortunate to have a roommate who is from the south. She has hooked me up with a few of her college friends who have offered me a place to stay and a tour of the city. I am really grateful to have some guidance from people who know the city well!
In light of being able to spend some time with locals – I thought it would be great to spend some time volunteering in the area. I found a really awesome organization whose mission is to engage, empower, and transform our community through volunteer service. This organization has various volunteer opportunities each month varying from reading to second graders to rebuilding community centers. I feel especially excited about this part of my trip because I have always had a deep passion for community, and I believe that there is much to be learned from spending time around people who have had different life experiences than your own. This organization is excited hosting out of state volunteers and sharing life with them for as long as they are willing to stay. I won’t be needing the hosting services, but I am really looking forward to working with and meeting new people.
I was not at all surprised to discover the handful of musical festivals happening during my trip. It is almost as if the answers to my questions are being handed to me with some of these festivals! I am most excited about the Jazz and Heritage Festival – its purpose is “To promote, preserve, perpetuate and encourage the music, arts, culture and heritage of communities in Louisiana through festivals, programs and other cultural, educational, civic and economic activities.” The line-up is pretty incredible and I look forward to spending time listening to good music, eating good food, and talking with locals about their experiences living in New Orleans.
Overall, this trip really is a dream come true. I am so excited that this program is going to challenge me to dig deep in my understanding of the city – I won’t just be a tourist, but a student that is eager to listen and to learn. For now, I need to solidify my schedule, get a head start on some literature, and day dream about beignets, jazz and bourbon street.
(Here’s a very tentative itinerary)
Week 1: The Garden District
Volunteer w/ HandsOn New Orleans – Community Service Day
http://www.handsonneworleans.org/HOC__Volunteer_Opportunity_Search_Page
Week 2: Musical Festivals
French Quarter Festival http://fqfi.org/press/detail/2/French-Quarter-Festival-is-April-9-12-2015
Jazz & Heritage Festival http://www.nojazzfest.com/
Click here to view the embedded video.
Week 3 : French Quarter
W New Orleans – French Quarter Hotel http://www.wfrenchquarter.com/
Bourbon Street Traditional New Orleans Gospel Brunch at Antoine’s http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/multicultural/multiculturaltraditions/gospel.html
Week 4: Julia Street
Gallier House Architecture Tour
Julia Street
NOMA – New Orleans Museum of Art
Before I leave this spring…
After much debate as to whether or not I would be able to go on this trip, I have in the last few weeks pulled together a plan to be able to go to my initial city; Los Angeles! I will be renting a room from a man named Olivier Ferrand, who is a music producer and has an in-home studio. Having recorded for artists such as Iggy Pop, he will have a vast knowledge of the history of the Los Angeles music scene, as well as a cheap room to rent out.
My experiences with Los Angeles have not been the most cherished. I remember leaving with a feeling of artificiality, and found the city to be very hard to connect to. However, having been to Los Angeles only twice, and for extremely short periods of time (a culmination of two days), I am really looking forward to spending more time in the city. I have never traveled to a city to academically study it, and I really hope to break my pre-conceived notions as well as the ones that I quickly conceived on my own. Before I embark on my trip, I plan on reading a few select chapters from both City of Quartz and Musical Metropolis to give me a layout of what I am going to see when I arrive, and to give me more context on locations and history. Musical Metropolis also comes with a CD, so that I can listen to the songs discussed in the book before hand as well as while I am reading. I will also be conducting internet research to learn about the history of real estate, tracking the movement of money through the city. Being one of the biggest cities for entertainment industry, the arts have played a crucial role in the creative and monetary capital that the city holds. This has given Los Angeles the illusion of the “City of Dreams”, where musicians, actors, and anyone trying to become famous, migrate to reach their dreams. However, this is not the case for many who live in the city.
As of March 2014, the unemployment rate in the city is marked at 8.0% (where 6.8% is the national average). Along with this, the percentage of people living below the poverty line is 21.2% (14.9% being the national average). With these figures in mind, it is mind-boggling to read that the cost of living is 30.4 percent above the U.S. average. The wealth is extremely high concentrated, and thus has raised the prices of everything in the city.
This type of extreme wealth gap doesn’t happen overnight, and took decades to get to the state that it is in now. To understand how such a thing happens to a city, one must examine where power lies and how the forces that be have shaped the city into the image that we see today; a bustling metropolis built on a fault line surrounded by desert and no fresh water whatsoever. Not only is the city a biological anomaly, but it is also a cultural one as well.
I am also very excited to see live performances when I’m there and talk to musicians about the current scene and their opinions on Los Angeles. There are a plethora of free shows happening every night in the city, which is something that is very new to me. Back home, most shows at venues cost at least 10-20 dollars, not including coat check. To get the most eclectic results, I will go to free shows, as well as a few paid shows, of any genre, and observe. I hope to be able to talk to some of the performers after their sets, and get their opinions on the current music scene and how thy view themselves in the context of L.A. and how the price of living has effected music production within the city.
My Itinerary:
| Week 1- I will be attending a free show almost every night
– I will be conducting interviews – I will be reading City of Quartz and Sins of the City |
| Week 2- I will be attending a free show almost every night
– I will go to the LACMA museum – I will be conducting interviews – I will be reading City of Quartz and Musical Metropolis |
| Week 3- I will be attending a free show almost every night
– I will be reading Sins of the City – I will be conducting interviewing |
| Week 4- I will be reading Musical Metropolis and Big Sleep
– Compiling information online from peer reviewed articles and beginning my essay and song writing process |
| Week 5- I will be reading Musical Metropolis and Big Sleep
– Compiling my information and working on final project |
| Week 6- I will be reading Musical Metropolis and Big Sleep
– Finishing up my final project |
Things I need to do before I leave this Spring:
- Build web-based academic journal (this site)
- Immunizations
- Visa
- Preliminary research
- Finalize prospectus
Things I need to do before I leave this Spring:
- Build web-based academic journal (this site)
It’s hard to believe that in only a month and a half I will be on the road and headed on my next adventure. I’ve only lived in Washington for a little over a year, but it’s the longest I’ve been rooted somewhere since I was a kid. My departure is definitely bitter sweet. Along with all my academic preparations for this trip, I am also selling most of my belongings and closing up shop in this rainy city. I have no return ticket and no plans to come back.
In preparing to study duende in Spain, I’ve become aware of just how little I know about the entire country. Last month I realized that I was largely uninformed about the Civil War and Franco and after doing more research into these important historical events I’ve realized that I hardly know anything about Spanish history. After hours of research I began to feel as if I was swimming in an obese sweater; searching for a neck hole in the darkness but only finding individual threads. After a time, I began to realize that I was trying to asses the texture of an entire country while only understanding a few isolated strings. My research made me very wary of attempting to capture something as deep, personal, and as unexplored as duende while I could not even piece together basic Spanish history.
Thankfully Federico Garcia Lorca has given me a basic map by which to study duende in his book In Search of Duende. In this book Lorca says that duende in Spanish culture can most prominently be seen in music, dance, and bull fighting. In my research I will not attempt to capture what duende is in Spanish culture because I do not think I am qualified to make general assumptions about a country whose basic history continues to evade me. Instead, I will focus on personal and cultural interpretations of duende and the ways in which the spirit of duende is evoked within myself.
Below I have listed a tentative list of weekly activities for Spring quarter. I realize that new opportunities may arise and that my schedule may change so I have tried to keep my plans relatively general to account for this. The most important text of my study will be In Search of Duende, as most of the other books about duende are really just about Lorca’s book. I will be speaking to Terry Setter (an Evergreen professor with experience in flamenco) later this week who will help me compile a final reading list and advise me in the most effective ways to approach my flamenco music and dance studies. I will add to and edit this calendar accordingly.
Throughout my entire study I will be reading poems from Desolation of Chimera by Luis Cernuda so I have not included it in my weekly schedules.
Week 1- March 30th-April 3
Class on the Evergreen campus –In Search of Duende by Federico Garcia Lorca
Week 2 – April 6-April 10
Class on the Evergreen campus – In Search of Duende by Federico Garcia Lorca
Week 3 – April 13-April 17
On April 10th I will begin driving to Colorado to visit with family before I depart to Sevilla on the 17th.
This week I will read DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Seville and Andalusia which contains a large amount of history and important information on architecture and art. I will also watch The Sea Inside and Pan’s Labyrinth to expand my knowledge of Spanish film and culture.
Week 4 – April 20-April 24
By some bizarre coincidence I will be arriving in Sevilla right as it’s most beloved festival is about to begin. The Feria de Abril is one of the most important cultural events in Spain and it contains pieces of every single componentthat create the soul of the country.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to study the heart of Spain in all it’s individual pieces while being able to view how they all interact as a whole. During this week I will be watching traditional dance (primarily flamenco), I will be interacting with live artists, listening to traditional and modern music, looking at traditional clothing, and learning about Spanish culture and traditions.
I will begin reading The Art of Flamenco to enhance my knowledge of flamenco. To document my experiences I will be taking photographs and videos, sketching, and writing about my discoveries. I will be talking to locals and drawing upon my knowledge from Federico Garcia Lorca’s book, In Search of Duende.
Week 5 – April 27-May 1
During this week I will be taking cante jondo (deep song) classes and attending locally recommended shows as well as tourist shows to compare the depth of experience. I will be focusing on the singers and will hopefully be able to interview some of them about their experience of duende.
I will finish reading The Art of Flamenco and begin reading Carmen by Prosper Merimee. I will document my experiences with writing, photos, videos, and sketches.
Week 6 – May 4-May 8
This week I will focus on flamenco dancing and music. I will be taking flamenco dance classes going to flamenco shows. I will be focusing on the different ways in which duende is experienced and perceived through dance, song, and music.
I will read Carmen by Prosper Merimee and document my experiences with photos, sketches, and writing.
Week 7 – May 11-May 15
During this week I will be investigating the historical and spritual aspects of bull fighting. Bull fighting is a important traditional activity in Spain and is anessential part of studying duende.
For my research I will begin reading Death in the Afternoonby Ernest Hemingway and will be going to at least one bullfight at Plaza de toros en la Real Maestranza. To document my research I will be drawing from Death in the Afternoon, In Search of Duende and from my own experiences at a bullfight to write reflective essaysand poetry. I will also be sketching and taking photos. Finish Death in the Afternoon.
Week 8 – May 18-May 22
This week I will finish studying bull fighting which will include finishing Death in the Afternoon and going to another bull fight if needed.
During this week I will focus on tying together my experiences with flamenco and bullfighting into a more comprehensive analysis of duende in Spanish culture. To do this, I will draw upon the sketches, photos, videos, interviews, writing that I have documented/created in the past 6 weeks.
Week 9 – May 25-May 29
Final Presentations
Week 10 – June 1-June 5
Evaluation Week
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