African Mask-Making Workshop: Professional Development Experiences of Diverse Participants

Abstract

ABSRACT: Diverse education professionals learned about African cultures in a workshop experience by making African masks using authentic symbolism. Analysis of reflections to evaluate the workshop for applicability to participants with and without African heritage showed that both groups expanded their cultural knowledge of traditional African ethnic groups. Those participants with African heritage noted valuing of women while those without African heritage expressed appreciation for African culture, self-evaluation of work, and the desire to investigate their own heritages.

A global perspective? Framing analysis of U.S. textbooks’ discussion of Nigeria

“…Ceremony participants often wear a mask as part of a costume that completely hides the body” (p. 522). These are not mere practices but have strong cultural and spiritual significance (Rule, Montgomery, Kirkland-Holmes, Watson, & Ayesiga, 2015). Further, not all Nigerian boys and girls engage in the same religion or in specific cultural practices.…”

“…The application of frame analysis in our study helps illuminate how U.S. curricular materials' discussion of Nigeria reflects colonial legacies providing an entry point to situate our discussion in postcolonialism in education (Rizvi, Lingard, & Lavia, 2006). Through frame analysis, we draw attention to the colonial formation of discourses in textbooks.…”

“…Our study provides a framework to examine the contemporary body of knowledge in the world history/culture and geography textbooks and the lingering European colonialists' legacy portraying African contexts within the narratives of colonized experiences (Rizvi, Lingard, & Lavia, 2006;Tikly, 1999). We focus on the advancement of critical discussion of colonial legacies within educational practices as they relate to which group authors knowledge and for whom they are authored (Rizvi, Lingard, & Lavia, 2006;Shahjahan, 2014;Takayama, Sriprakash, & Connell, 2017). Finally, we also focus on how Western approaches of non-Western cultural descriptions are contaminated with ideologies of domination, projection and appropriation (Said, 1978).…”

“…The ways in which the U.S. textbooks examined here present discussions of Nigeria as they relate to underdevelopment and conflict draw attention to underpinnings of colonial perspectives in textbooks. It indicates the contemporary body of knowledge in the world history/ cultures and geography textbooks is part of lingering European colonialists' legacy portraying African contexts within contaminated narratives (Rizvi, Lingard & Lavia, 2006;Said, 1978Said, /1993Tikly, 1999). The textbooks' accounts distort history and lead U.S. students to construct false narratives about Nigeria (Eraqi, 2015;Odebiyi, Keles, Mansouri, & Papaleo, 2018).…”

“…Some studies have described the importance of masks, associating them with indigenous meaning-making and construction of social reality. Among the Yorubas in Nigeria, for example, where such masks exist, local cultural practices represent interlinks among masked performers' ideology, essence-existence beliefs, notions of spirituality and deification (Odebiyi & Sunal, 2017;Odebiyi, Sunal, & Ogodo, 2018;Rule, Montgomery, Holmes, Watson, & Ayesiga, 2015) . Local Yoruba communities ascribe symbols to what they deem sacred and valuable such as the mask and masquerades, hence, such symbols are deified.…”