CURRENT RESEARCH
Following research and cases are carried out by students of the Master in Tourism (KUL) to the attend of Marc Vanlangendonck as promotor. Expeditions supports the work of young researchers in the field of cultural sciences with any means. We try to give them a platform and a network that ables them to perform under the best possible conditions
Kristien Dupae
Research by Kristien Dupaekristien.dupae@student.kuleuven.be
'Speak with your mouths full' is the prospective title of my Masters thesis in Social and Cultural Anthropology. During the Summer of 2009 I participated in Malta Summer School, another project of Expeditions, in order to conduct fieldwork on Gozo.
The aim of my thesis is twofold. First, I focus on food and eating as ethnic boundary markers within the touristic realm and beyond. In fact, eating is very much an embodied practice: the ways in which we consume food reflects status, hierarchy and roles within a society. This is often not a cognitive action, not something we are aware of, it seems to come naturally. Yet, it varies across cultures. Food and eating serve as unconscious metaphors of culture, it often takes an outsider to recognize certain patterns. But food is also important on other levels. As Manning Nash points out in his book 'The Cauldron of Ethnicity in the Modern World' (Nash,1989) sharing meals is a very intimate practice that constructs and reaffirms strong relationships between human beings leading to the formation of ethnicity.
Today, more and more countries partake in a global political and economical system. The emphasis on national cuisines, reflects the intention of countries to find their place within the nationalist ideology and this global system. This is no different for Malta, a country which has known various (potential) colonizers up to 1964 (Billiard, 2006). But globalization processes also include more social and cultural phenomena such as tourism. I find food particularly interesting in this context. Certain types of food are sought after by- and marketed towards- tourists. At the same time few tourists succeed in really getting to know the Gozitan culture outside of this touristic realm.
A second aim is concerned with tourism on Gozo, a vital niche of the islet's economy. The Gozitans generally feel that tourism is slow, it is the main island Malta that attracts more tourists and for a longer stay. In general, one or two day long trips to Gozo are often organized by Maltese tour-operators. The Gozitan Government is now aiming for a more sustainable form of tourism, ecotourism. Aside from touching upon some infrastructural issues that could be at the basis of Gozo's problems with tourism, I intend to suggest certain critical issues that should be taken into account when developing ecotourism further. The central point here is that all parties (both hosts and guests) need to be included in discussions about tourism, in order to make the sector truly sustainable. In this respect, I believe the sharing of a meal to be of key importance for the touristic experience, as it may provide hosts as well as guests with insights about each other, maybe even laying the foundations for further contact or friendship.
For further information about my research or experiences with Malta Summer School, please feel free to contact me on the e-mail address above.
Dupae Kristien, March 2010
- Nash, M. The Cauldron of Ethnicity in the Modern World. Chicago University Press: Chicago - Billiard, E. When Tradition becomes Trendy: Social Distinction in Maltese Food Culture. Anthropological Notebooks, XII/1, 2006.
Kaat Mertens
Research by Kaat Mertens kaat.mertens@student.kuleuven.be
Former experiences such as voluntary work, exchanges and apprenticeships abroad as well as in Belgium (my home country) drove me to getting caught by an urge to learn about possibilities in empowering socially deprived groups. In wanting to broaden my scientific insight and empowering myself this way, I decided to undertake a Master in Social and Cultural Anthropology, which I am currently studying at the University of Leuven (Belgium). Through this study I got into touch with oral history as a way of learning about people’s particular perspectives and handling this knowledge in the stimulation of sustainable empowerment initiatives. This is what I will be occupied with for the coming period in going to Yoff (Dakar, Senegal) and writing my master thesis. Using the knowledge obtained in cooperation with other people in order to encourage desired social change is my objective in becoming a good anthropologist.
Des expériences acquises comme du bénévolat, des échanges et des stages à l’ étranger aussi bien qu’ en Belgique (ma patrie) m’ a incitée d’ entamer une recherche afin de mieux saisir les moyens de renforcer des groupes socialement défavorisés. Désirant élargir ma compréhension scientifique et par là développer mes capacités, j’ ai décidé de suivre un Master en Anthropologie Sociale et Culturelle, ce que je fais aujourd’hui à l’ Université de Louvain (Belgique). En étudiant, je suis entrée en contact avec l’ histoire oral comme une manière d’ acquérir une compréhension des perspectives personnelles des gens et d’ employer cette connaissance pour stimuler des initiatives de renforcement durables. Ceci sera mon occupation pour la période prochaine pendant mon séjour à Yoff (Dakar, Sénégal) et en écrivant ma thèse de master. L’ application de la connaissance obtenue en coopération avec des autres pour encourager le changement social désiré s’inscrit dans mon intention de devenir une bonne anthropologue.
Kaat Mertens, September 3, 2009Sarah Vandebosch
Research by Sarah Vandebosch vandebosch.sarah@hotmail.com
Bachelor in Applied Psychology (Lessius Hogeschool Antwerpen, Belgium) and currently completing a Master’s Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium). Working on a research project on Sports and Games in relation to Identity and Integration in Senegal, Dakar.
For a more detailed description of the research you can contact me on my email which is projected above.
Check back soon for more information ...
Sarah Vandebosch, July 3, 2009Petra Cortois
Research by Petra Cortois petra.cortois@student.kuleuven.be
From Space to Meaningful Place
An exploratory anthropological research on place-making practices
in a rural village in the region of Haspengouw.
My anthropological research explores the place-making practices of the inhabitants of a small rural village in Haspengouw. How does the space surrounding the inhabitants become a place which belong to them? A village, a town, a square, a house, a specific corner, a tree, a field, a café, the way the locality is structured/ordered, etc., all this becomes meaningful for the inhabitants - becomes ‘their’ place - because of the way they use the place, the experiences they had there, the local stories surrounding it, the changes these places have gone through, and so forth.
This is a matter of individual experience but the local community equally plays a significant role in this process, especially in the kind of location I studied.
In our postmodern era, the world has become a global village. But at the same time, boundaries and strong identifications are also more and more important. These two seemingly contradictory phenomena are actually two sides of the same coin. While a lot of contemporary anthropological studies focus on the first side ( deterritorialization, hybridity, non-places and so forth) , the other side seems equally important in this temporary context namely the study of space and place and the way people give meaning to it, are attached to it, identify with it. This latter perspective is the focus of my anthropological research. More precisely: How does a piece of space/land, a locality, that seems in itself meaningless (merely matter), become meaningful (becomes a place, again full of places) through the everyday interaction between the inhabitants with their environment (the locality).
Through exploring what I call the place-making practices of the villagers, I also explore their local attachment and local identification. These are two intertwined processes. By telling their story about the place they live in, they tell about ‘their’ place, their belonging to a place.
Through their stories, it became clear to me that some pieces of the village became special places for the local community - particular places in the village full of meaning - and certain perceptions of the village where shared between them. I want to understand the meaning of these kind of places for the villagers and understand how people appropriate the surrounding space they live in as part of their identity, their local roots.
The population of the village I studied is relatively aged, with a high proportion of inhabitants above the age of 60. Many inhabitants are locals or have been living in the village for a long time after being married to locals. Yet, in the latest years, a number of young families from the city have moved to the little village, whose experience and perspectives I also want to investigate.
For a more detailed and concrete description of my research or for other questions you can contact me on my email adress.
Petra Cortois, October 6, 2009petra.cortois@student.kuleuven.be