Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item A SLICE OF HOME: MUSIC & CULTURE IN A US-BASED CARIBBEAN STEELBAND COMMUNITY(2024) Francis, Josanne Fiona; Prichard, Stephanie; Grisé, Adam; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of participants in a specific Caribbean steelband community music program in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Using an ethnographic case study design, I focused on the youth-serving community steelband, Caribbean Steel Pulse (CSP). Guided by research questions on teaching and learning, cultural identity, and musical experiences within this context, my methodology was enriched by my insider perspective.I gathered data from observations and in-depth interviews with four participants—a student, two instructors, and two administrative personnel. Through my analysis, I identified four main themes: Family, Service, Cultural Identity and Continuity, and (M/m)usic (E/e)ducation. My findings revealed that teaching and learning in this “informal” Music Education space is a multifaceted process incorporating practical, theoretical, historical, and interpersonal elements. The dichotomy between traditional steelband methods, such as rote learning, and Western music theory in Caribbean Steel Pulse fostered a holistic understanding of music theory and performance while honoring cultural heritage. Participants' narratives highlighted both national and Afro/Caribbean diasporic identities. The steelband community of CSP provided a space for discovering, expressing and affirming these identities, facilitated by the inclusive and supportive environment of the parent organization, Caribbean Cultural Academy (CCA). This study highlights the importance of accessibility and inclusivity in music education, and the important role of youth-serving community music organizations in identity development, and music education. CCA's model, which minimizes financial and bureaucratic barriers to entry, contrasts with traditional school music programs that often inadvertently exclude economically disadvantaged students.Item Dancing the Archive: Rhythms of Change in Post-Volcano Identities on Montserrat, West Indies(2016) Spanos, Kathleen Aurelia; Frederik, Laurie; Theatre; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In this dissertation, I demonstrate how improvisations within the structures of performance during Montserrat’s annual festivals produce “rhythms of change” that contribute to the formation of cultural identities. Montserrat is a small island of 39.5 square miles in the Caribbean’s Leeward Islands, and a volcanic disaster in the 1990s led to the loss of villages, homes, and material possessions. The crisis resulted in mass displacement and emigration, and today’s remaining population of 5,000 is now in a stage of post-volcano redevelopment. The reliability of written archives for establishing cultural knowledge is tenuous, and the community is faced with re-energizing cherished cultural traditions. This ethnographic research traces my embodied search for Montserrat’s history through an archive that is itself intangible and performative. Festivals produce some of the island’s most visible and culturally political events, and music and dance performances prompt on- and off-stage discussions about the island’s multifaceted heritage. The festival cycle provides the structure for ongoing renegotiations of what it means to be “Montserratian.” I focus especially on the island’s often-discussed and debated “triangular” heritage of Irishness, Africanness, and Montserratianness as it is performed during the festivals. Through my meanderings along the winding hilly roads of Montserrat, I explored reconfigurations of cultural memory through the island’s masquerade dance tradition and other festival celebrations. In this work, I introduce a “Cast of Characters,” each of whose scholarly, artistic, and public service work on Montserrat contributes to the shape and transformation of the island’s post-volcano cultural identities today. This dissertation is about the kinesthetic transmission of shared (and sometimes unshared) cultural knowledge, the substance of which echoes in the rhythms of Montserrat’s music and dance practices today.Item TO SWITCH OR NOT TO SWITCH: THE EFFECTS OF INVITING BILINGUAL LATINOS TO SWITCH LANGUAGES IN PSYCHOTHERAPY(2012) Perez Rojas, Andres; Gelso, Charles J.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The effects of inviting bilingual Latinos to switch languages in psychotherapy were examined, as was the question of whether cultural identity affected how this offer was perceived. Fifty-two bilingual Latino university students listened to one of two recordings of a psychotherapy session with a bilingual Latina therapist and client. In one recording, the therapist invited the client to switch to Spanish; in the other, she did not invite the client to switch. Participants were then asked to imagine themselves in the client's role and rate the therapist's credibility and multicultural competence, the alliance they would anticipate, and their willingness to see the therapist. Results showed that when the therapist invited the client to switch, she received higher multicultural competence ratings. Also, participants high in ethnic identity commitment rated this therapist as being less credible. These findings could contribute to the bilingual psychotherapy literature and have implications for practice and research.