Presentation Reflection
Religious Oppression is a big topic and a hard one to do justice to. There was a lot of information to be covered and it all felt very important. Applying this material to my social justice project revealed other indices of identity that might influence how this project unfolds. Bagamoyo is a deeply religious place. Locals identify as Muslim or Christian or both if their parents have different religious affiliations. Many households are conservative and refrain from the performing arts. Therefore, there should be special attention paid to what kind of materials are collected and ensuring that there are materials that appeal to more conservative households.
My class presentation was challenging. There was alot of new information for me and very difficult to present in such a short period of time. I had many lingering questions related to how to incorporate this perspective of identity and the cultural differences between my experience with Christianity and that of my research context. While Bagamoyo if full of religious spaces, rituals, and practices, there seems to be a division between art and religion. I also wonder if I should be intentional about incorporating books on art and religion in the library? Or should I interview Africulture members about their religious background and how that influences their artistic practices. This assignment definitely opened a range of different questions, I did not think about.