Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-157).

This thesis looks at the social significance of dance in Dakar, Senegal, both as an everyday practice and as a performing art. The boundaries commonly drawn between stage and mundane performance are shown to be irrelevant, as people circulate between performance spaces and dance forms. The dance itself is described as an elusive and ever-changing way of constructing identity, which is renewed every time it is performed. Most importantly, this thesis introduces dance as a vehicle of social mobility in its multiple dimensions, as an instrument in the politics of ethnicity in Senegal, and as a site of negotiation of gender relations. The complex interplay between the agency of local dancers and global performing circuits is also examined. Transformations in social status of performers are traced through time, space and across three genres of performance: the sabar, which is central in what I call "women's dances", folkloric performance, and recent choreographic experiments, lumped under the misleading label of "contemporary dance". The sabar and women's dance events are examined both as the local movement style that informs some of the choreographic work displayed on stage, and as a central space in which alternative gender relations are experimented with. I suggest that urban dance events have become increasingly dominated by women, for whom the dance is a convenient way of excluding men from their sociality, or including them on their own terms. Women are thus able to retain the control of important aspects of social life (the socialization of young girls, marriage negotiations, exchanging secrets on how to "tie" a husband), engage in trade and coach each other into small-scale business. Alongside the celebration of female solidarity, dance events are also moments of intense female competition. This is achieved through fashion, sexually explicit dancing and elaborate manipulation of the body. I argue that in a depressed economic climate which has turned to the disadvantage of most men, women are discreetly using their favourite form of sociality - the dance to make advances into the socio-economic domain. The argument on the performer's status through time takes the pre-colonial status stratification, particularly the figure of the Griot-performer, as a starting point. I suggest that the international career opportunities generated by the development of the folkloric genre from the 1960s onwards have helped modify the perception of the performer, albeit on a moderate scale. Further improvement has recently been achieved with the emergence of "contemporary dance". This is because the most successful performers within this experimental genre have benefited from the opportunity to promote themselves as individual artists. Moreover, when on tour abroad they are usually paid more and perform in more prestigious theatres than they do with folkloric performance, which often remains confined to "African festivals" and tourist resorts. In Senegal, they engage in collaborative work with visiting artists from Europe, North America or Japan. By contrast with the elitist character of the genre in its early days, in the 1970s, "contemporary" Senegalese dance is gradually becoming popularized, as people promote themselves as artists with a social consciousness. But the thesis also emphasizes that social mobility is not equally available to all, and that success, far from being a linear process, also contains the possibility of its own downfall: touring abroad may lose much of its appeal once people realize that they are being exploited. For performers who experiment with "contemporary" forms, social recognition can easily turn into accusations of doing "White people's stuff". This may partly explain why these performers are so keen to make their "local" grounding explicit, and why they nurture a fascination with "tradition". In a broader sense, this study also highlights the complexities of globalization processes in performance. It hints at the risks of the forms of globalization that reinforce power imbalances. Indeed, the renewed interest in the "contemporary" arts of Africa may be seen as part of a more general movement towards exploiting the creativity of African cultures. I examine people's ambivalent attitudes towards this, and argue that people perceive their own lives, as well as their status in the wider world, as deeply entangled with the representations of Africa which are projected onto the worldwide stage.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-157).

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Planejamento Urbano, 1999. / Submitted by Jaqueline Ferreira de Souza (jaquefs.braz@gmail.com) on 2013-05-17T12:32:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 1999_NDiogouDiene.pdf: 10520511 bytes, checksum: fb5927a974737df2a5e316fd0b769d29 (MD5) / Rejected by Jaqueline Ferreira de Souza(jaquefs.braz@gmail.com), reason: on 2013-05-17T12:33:52Z (GMT) / Submitted by Jaqueline Ferreira de Souza (jaquefs.braz@gmail.com) on 2013-05-17T12:40:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 1999_NDiogouDiene.pdf: 10520511 bytes, checksum: fb5927a974737df2a5e316fd0b769d29 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Guimaraes Jacqueline(jacqueline.guimaraes@bce.unb.br) on 2013-05-17T15:01:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 1999_NDiogouDiene.pdf: 10520511 bytes, checksum: fb5927a974737df2a5e316fd0b769d29 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-17T15:01:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1999_NDiogouDiene.pdf: 10520511 bytes, checksum: fb5927a974737df2a5e316fd0b769d29 (MD5) / A presente Dissertação tem como objetivo principal analisar, criticar, exaustivamente, os processos de Estruturação Espacial Urbana da Região Metropolitana de Dakar “Pós-lndepêdencia”, a partir das suas idiossincrasias e outros fenômenos que deles podem se originar e influir, direta ou indiretamente, no tocante à produção do espaço residencial intra-urbano. Entre estes, sua influência tríplice e de primeira importância: Árabo-lslâmica, Autóctone-Negro Africana e sobretudo Colonial Européia Francesa. Procura-se via, este canal, associar tais processos aos fatores econômicos, sócio-culturais, étnico-religiosos e gerontocráticos, numa análise contemporânea, que avalia o teor e a amplitude dos fenômenos de estratificação sócio-espacial, bem como as questões conjunturais de política e planejamento urbano. ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT / The principal objective of this dissertation is to critically and extensively analyse the process of urban spatial organization of the Metropolitan Region of Post- Independence Dakar.lt begins by describing its historycal and cultural idiosyncracies and other phenomena which directly or indirectly, have an influence on the production of urban residential areas. Moreover,its three currents of ethnic influence are of fundamental importance : Arab-lslamic, indigenous Black-African and above all European French-Colonia. For this reason, it seeks, to associate ethnic influencies with economic socio-cultural, ethnic-religious and geronocratic factors in an unique contemporary analisys and to evaluate the tenor and the amplitude of the phenomena socio-spatial stratification. Finally it adress certan current questions of urban policy and planning. ______________________________________________________________________________ RESUMEN / Esta Dissertacíon tiene como principal objetivo, analizar de maneira critica y ampla los processos de la estructuracíon espacial urbana de la Región Metropolitana de Dakar Pós-lndenpendéncia, a partir de sus idiosincrasias y otros fenómenos que puedam originarse de ellas e influayan directa e indirectamente en la producción de su espacio residencial urbano.Por otro parte, en decorrencia de su influencia triple Árabe-lslâmica, autoctona Negro-Africana y Colonial-Europeia- Francesa, procura através deste canal, associar tales processos a los factores econômicos, socio-cuiturales, étnico-religioso y gerontocráticos en um único análisis contemporâneo, evaluando el nivel y la amplitud de los fenômenos de segregación socio-espacial y las cuestiones de politica e planificación urbana. ______________________________________________________________________________ RÉSUMÈ / Le but de cette Dissertation est d’ammener un apport analytique critique et exhaustif aux discutions relatives à la structuration spaciale urbaine de la Région Métropolitaine de DAKAR “Post-lndénpendance”, à partir de ses idiossyncrasies sociales et d ’autres phénomènes qui peuvent en découler et en même temps, influer direct et indirectement sur la production de son espace résidentiel urbain. En outre, dû à sa triple influence: Arabo-lslamique, Autochtone Négro- Africaine et surtout, Colonial-Européene Française, elle cherche par le biais de ce canal, à associer tels processus aux facteurs énconomiques, socio-culturels, éthnico-réligieux et gérontocratiques en une unique analise comtemporaine, avaliant la manière et l ’ampleure des phénomènes de stratification socio-spatiale et sourtout, les questions de politique et de plainification urbaine.

Le poisson a une place centrale dans l’alimentation dakaroise. Il est aussi l’un des composants principaux du plat emblématique du pays, le ceebujën, présent dans les habitudes quotidiennes des populations. Pour des raisons écologiques, politiques et économiques, l’accessibilité du poisson sur le marché local diminue ces dernières années. Cette thèse analyse les stratégies d’adaptation mises en place par les Dakarois face à cette situation. Ce projet explore la dimension dynamique de l’alimentation et des processus de décision alimentaire. Une enquête a été réalisée en trois phases principales : 1) une phase d’immersion ethnographique ; 2) une phase qualitative constituée d’entretiens d’experts et de mangeurs dakarois, ainsi que d’observations participantes de séquences alimentaires (approvisionnement, préparation, consommation d’un repas) ; 3) une phase quantitative de passation d’un questionnaire auprès de 820 Dakarois. Les résultats démontrent que les changements alimentaires peuvent autant recouvrir des enjeux de maintien des pratiques à l’intérieur des cadres définis par les modèles alimentaires, qu’ils peuvent se révéler des leviers de redéfinition de ces modèles. Le statut identitaire et social de certains aliments (le poisson), plats (le ceebujën) ou recettes (celle du ceebujën dit plat « à une marmite ») favorise les comportements de maintien à l’intérieur du modèle alimentaire, tandis que la « modernisation » de la société tend à favoriser, au contraire, des pratiques dépassant le modèle. Par conséquent, cette thèse contribue à dynamiser le concept de modèle alimentaire en exposant, d’une part, comment les modèles alimentaires constituent une ressource mobilisée en situation de changement et, d’autre part, sont façonnés par ces mêmes changements. / Fish have a central position in food in Dakar. It is also one of the main components of the emblematic dish of the country, the ceebujën, present in the daily habits of the populations. For ecological, political and economic reasons, the accessibility of fish to the local market has been declining in recent years. This thesis analyses the adaptation strategies used by Dakar inhabitants facing this situation. This project considers the dynamic dimension of food and of the food decision processes. Data collection was carried out in three main phases: 1) an ethnographic immersion phase; 2) a qualitative phase consisting of interviews with experts and Dakar eaters, plus participant observation sessions of food sequences (supply, preparation and consumption of a meal); 3) a quantitative phase in which 820 Dakar inhabitants answered a questionnaire. The results show that while food changes can involve a maintaining of the practices defined by the food models, they can also participate in the redefinition of these models. The identity and social statuses of certain food (fish), dishes (the ceebujën) or recipes (the ceebujën is categorised as "one-pot dish") favours the behaviours of maintenance inside the food model, whereas “modernization” tends to allow for the development of practices that go beyond the model. This thesis complicates and revitalises the concept of food model by exposing how food models constitute a resource mobilized in time of change, while they are simultaneously shaped by these same changes.