~ Faculty Musings ~

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Anthropology Faculty - Part 1

Missouri State – Jamaica, Mon!
by Bill Wedenoja

(Dr. Wedenoja is pictured on your left.
The other pictures are of his students and local Jamaicans involved in
Dr. Wedenoya most recent field experience. Editor)

I have been conducting research in Jamaica since 1972, beginning with a study of children and violence, focusing for the most part on traditional religion, and recently studying alternative tourism. The past five years, I have concentrated on developing opportunities for Missouri State students – particularly anthropology majors – to gain a cross-cultural research experience while providing services to a Jamaican community.

In 2001 I took Missouri State students Casey Reid, Carrie Smith, Melanie Helfrecht, and Matt Jones on a two-week study tour of the island. Brendan Fletcher, Stephanie Finley, Susan Rakestraw, Anna Johnston, and Dina Williams toured the island and helped with some research for four weeks in 2003. Last summer, Chris Smith from Missouri State and two graduate students from the University of Michigan and the University of London came with me for four weeks. Three Missouri State students have already committed to four weeks in the summer of 2005.

The program has two components. We spend the first two weeks assisting the Bluefields Peoples Community Association or BPCA, a grass roots organization founded in 1987 in the small fishing village of Belmont, with 3800 people, on the southwest coast of the island. Belmont is, incidentally, the home of reggae superstar Peter Tosh. Projects have included a pedestrian survey on the direction of the BPCA, a survey of potential community tourism providers, and a survey of primary school children participating in a community computer project.

In addition, we have helped with the local basic school (pre-school), supplied paint and labor for the BPCA offices and school house, assisted with website development, advised them on tourism development and promotion, identified historic sites, and created a map and compiled statistical information on the community. While in Belmont, we of course attend church services and cultural events and make many new friends.  In Fall 2003, I am pleased to say, the Anthropology Club raised $535 to pay the lease on the basic school, and this fall they have thus far raised $400 for relief in the wake of hurricane Ivan.  The BPCA will use this money to establish a BPCA-Missouri State emergency loan program for people in need. 

The second phase of the trip is a tour of the island.  Our first stop is the capital city of Kingston, where we stay for several days in dorms at the University of the West Indies while exploring the city. 

Some highlights of our visit to Kingston have been the pirate capital of Port Royal, the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), the archaeology division of the JNHT, the Tuff Gong recording studio, and the Bob Marley museum.

From Kingston, we drive north on a precipitous route across the beautiful Blue Mountains, crossing a pass at 4000 feet and, last summer, stopping to visit a coffee plantation, where the finest coffee in the world is said to be grown.  With the north coast seaport of Port Antonio as our base, we explore the wild and undeveloped east coast, including the famous Blue Lagoon, and venture into the mountains to the Maroon capital of Moore Town, where we have interviewed the Colonel and the Captain, the two principal leaders of communities of descendants of runaway slaves, and hiked to Nanny Falls, named after a national hero. The next stop on the tour is the remote mountain farming village of Albert Town where the Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency arranges home-stays and a guided hike in the wild and rugged Cockpit Country.

I hope this experience will help students decide on a direction to follow in their careers and that it will also give them the skills and confidence to tackle foreign travel on their own.

Editor's Note: This year Dr. Wedenoja was a recipient of our
College's Excellence in Service Award.

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(Anthropology - Part 2)