Term of Award
Spring 2023
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)
Document Type and Release Option
Dissertation (restricted to Georgia Southern)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
College of Education
Committee Chair
Dr. Daniel Chapman
Committee Member 1
Dr. Fayth Parks
Committee Member 2
Dr. John Weaver
Committee Member 3
Dr. Birgitta Johnson
Committee Member 3 Email
bjohnson@mozart.sc.edu
Abstract
African American communities on the east coast Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia provide a rare opportunity to study some of the extraordinary elements of African influence on African American culture in the United States (Beoku-Betts, 1994). Known as the Gullah or Geechee (used interchangeably), these communities are comprised of enslaved West African descendants who worked and settled on the islands. During the early 18th century, thousands of enslaved West Africans were seized and shipped to markets in Charleston (SC) and Savannah (GA). Captains of those ships facilitated the transmission of African culture and traditions by bringing authentic musical instruments onboard (Burnin & Maultsby, 2015). Crew members would force the enslaved to dance, sing, and play musical instruments for various reasons. Specifically sought out for expertise in the growing of certain crops including rice, the Gullah-Geechee have retained many ethnic traditions of their native homeland primarily due to geographic isolation along the coastal landscape and tropical conditions. African songs are the foundation for what is referred to as Gullah-Geechee music (Federal Point Historic Preservation Society, 2018). The influence and evolution of musical forms that emerged from this cultural perspective are reflected in many genres of music. Based on the time period of 1970s-Present (2023, the purpose of this study is to determine the role music plays in the lives of the Gullah-Geechee community members, the extent to which music has changed, and the extent to which music of the indigenous group has remained the same.
Recommended Citation
Jenkins, Renee D., “GIMME DAT OLE TIME LIGION” TRACING MUSIC OF THE GULLAH-GEECHEE COMMUNITY FROM A CULTURAL CONTEXT: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE(2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
Research Data and Supplementary Material
Yes
