Perfomring Culture in Samoan Dance
Date
2013
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Producer
Director
Performer
Choreographer
Costume Designer
Music
Videographer
Lighting Designer
Set Designer
Crew Member
Funder
Rehearsal Director
Concert Coordinator
Advisor
Moderator
Panelist
Alternative Title
Department
Swarthmore College. Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology
Type
Thesis (B.A.)
Original Format
Running Time
File Format
Place of Publication
Date Span
Copyright Date
Award
Language
en_US
Note
Table of Contents
Terms of Use
Full copyright to this work is retained by the student author. It may only be used for non-commercial, research, and educational purposes. All other uses are restricted.
Rights Holder
Access Restrictions
Terms of Use
Tripod URL
Identifier
Abstract
This thesis is an auto-ethnographic account of ethnographic research conducted over a thirteen-week period on dance, or siva, in Samoa, a country in the South Pacific. This paper shows both how Samoan culture is performed in dance and how located in the lived experiences of Samoan dancers are larger tensions about westernization, tradition, and authenticity. This paper argues that classifications of dance as “authentic” versus “inauthentic” or “traditional” verses “appropriated” are often problematic and unproductive. Instead, this paper refocuses these conversations on the real world impacts and implications of Samoan dance in an increasingly global world on the dancers themselves. This paper poses questions such as: Why do people talk about culture as if it is stagnant? Why might someone want to maintain “tradition?” Why does “authenticity” matter? How can we reconceptualize what “tradition” and “authenticity” mean? In attempting to answer questions like these, this thesis pokes holes in the existing literature and argues for rethinking the taken-for-granted categories we have.