Are you psychologically braced to pursue a master’s program? Do you have a properly defined area/problem you aim at researching into? What impact, in the long run, do you seek to achieve with your MA; to solve a problem or draw attention to an existing situation? Is your craving for an MA well thought through or you only want to purse one because it’s become fashionable overtime?
Such a perfect cocktail of confused thoughts served on a shiny tray by the affable joker to me at a grand ball I was not invited to from the onset. More so, a pictorial representation of what my mind’s eye has to show for all interested in knowing the ‘civil war’ my psyche had to endure before an eventual treaty was reached to tender my application in on 1st February 2018.
The constant battle with ideas, self-doubt, and preparedness were daunting albeit an inextensible quest to pursue knowledge and prospectively add to it.
My conviction to pursue the Culture Heritage Studies program stemmed from a peculiar social conundrum I observed in a coastal town called Axim in the Western Region of Ghana when I last visited in September 2017. This town houses Fort St. Anthony, the second largest fort built in the then Gold Coast, present-day Ghana by the Portuguese in 1515. The primary purpose for building this fort was to serve as stead within which the control of gold trade takes place. As the years went by, the fort became subject to different ownership, thus, the Portuguese handed it over to the Dutch in 1642, the Dutch did same by handing over to the British in 1872 and finally come under Ghanaian custody after achieving political independence in 1957. During these periods of the different succession of Fort St Anthony, its original purpose for which it was constructed (i.e. the stead for the trade of gold with the locals) transformed, thus, used as a fortification against the locals and for the predominant trade of slaves during the dark years of colonization.
Until present-day, there is a split in opinion amongst the people who live within the town towards this historic monument. A faction is indifferent about its relevance and superstitiously believes that it is a haunted edifice hence it should be left to rot away. Whereas other varying opinions have it that, regardless of the treacherous activities the fort was used for in the past, its historical value should be appreciated and tapped into for the good of the township. Retrospectively, I found this impasse very thought-provoking and felt pursuing an academic research braced with recommendations on the need for exclusive local involvement in the management of this monument will be worth my while. The draft of my proposal was centered around the stated situation and I repeatedly thought to myself ‘this is what you’re fated for, make it happen!’.
Fast-forward, the puzzle is increasingly taking a different turn after hopping onto the 'CEU ferry'. Budapest welcomed me with open arms adorned with the absolute beauty she has on offer, so did the ever-calm Danube river promise me the smoothest sail ever. How sweet and generous.
True to its words, the sail got off to a solemn start as we breezed through the zero weeks purposefully initiated to welcome first-year students like myself into the school, the program, our immediate community and the city at large. Our academic field trip to some historic sites and monuments in West Hungary capped with a visit to the Hungarian National Museum was littered with a surreal ‘holiday feel’ notwithstanding the educative purposes for which it was organized.
It was during this period that I felt an urge to augment my focus and alter the original plan I got into the program with. This was mainly influenced by personal inferences garnered from how the sites and monuments we visited were preserved and most importantly presented to the amazement of almost every student on the program. Where then is my next confused step going to lead me to? A redirection of my thesis topic to an equally pertinent situation which is fast gaining roots amongst the Ghanaian populace especially the youth. Thus, a fast decline in public interest and patronage of heritage sites and monuments mainly due to lack of appropriate management, promotion, and presentation to suit the technological demands of the current generation. The core of what I am seeking to delve into is to explore how virtual outlets particularly social media can be adopted and used in contextualizing and presenting cultural heritage as well as digitally encoding their stories for the consumption of the general populace. This is aimed at reigniting nostalgia amongst individuals who have visited any of the sites in the past, promoting tourism, and most importantly revamp a sense of national pride amongst the youth.
In hindsight, my thought formulation process on what an ideal roadmap for this newly found spark should be is undefined. I don’t have a clear idea as to how proceedings are going to pan out but trust me, I will find a way.
Until then, the waters are murky at present, my sight is blurred but the game is within reach. I’m up for it!.
REFERENCE:
Thierry Secretan, Castles & Forts of Ghana publication 1999, with permission from Ghana Museums & Monuments Board
http://www.ghanaexpeditions.com/regions/highlight_detail.asp?rdid=127#
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