Anri Hanekom

22706593

Research proposal

M.Mus (L870P, MUSN871)

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The musical construction of identity among students at the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University

Keywords

Identity

Music

Musical practices

North-West University

Social transformation

Students

Introduction

This proposed study is an expansion of a pilot investigation (Hanekom, 2014)

conducted among students from a women’s residence at the Potchefstroom Campus

of North-West University (NWU). Its main objective is to explore the role of musical

practices in the construction of identities among selected local student populations.

This objective aligns with a fundamental musicological endeavour, namely the

treatment of musical practices not as mere reflections of other, non-musical

processes of identity formation, but as actual performances of life (Becker, 1990;

Cohen, 1993; Frith, 2004; Negus, 1996; Negus & Velazquez, 2002). Studies in this

field address the life-long identification of the self and the group by means of

processes that integrate ‘structural’, conceptual, behavioural and musical domains

(Qureshi, 1987; also see Born, 2013; Cook, 2014; Hawkins, 2002; James, 1999;

Kassabian, 1999; Leyshon, et al., 1998; Moore, 2006; Turino, 2008). In other words,

they negate simple causal relationships between society and music, instead

attempting to identify and describe a dialectical or reciprocal relationship between

them (see Ritzer & Stepnitsky, 2014:46-47).

The above-mentioned pilot study accordingly revealed an awareness among hostel

residents of the role of communal musical performance in the construction of a

shared identity, particularly by means of performances of the ‘hostel song’, as well as

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the hosting of intra-hostel and inter-hostel dance events. The identity forms attached

to these events were identified by residents as promoting a sense of belonging, while

facilitating interaction with other hostels, and by hostel alumni as the basis of life-

long friendships. For these reasons, residents recognised the need for the periodic

subordination of their personal musical preferences to the conventions of established

musical rituals, particularly those aimed at the definition of a collective.

The prevalent individual musical experience of residents in turn involved

consumption rather than performance, but listening to music nevertheless similarly

was identified as a life strategy – as a way of understanding the world and linking

with certain important past experiences, as well as an emotional resource that

releases ‘mental energy’ required to meet the demands of daily existence.

The envisaged value of the proposed study therefore is that it will reveal a continuum

of identity forms attached to personal as well as institutional musical practices. This

actual identity continuum will negate the popular notion that student culture on the

Potchefstroom Campus is homogenous and can somehow be essentialised. The

investigation will accordingly affirm the notion of identity as dynamic, situational and

strategic rather than unequivocal and immutable (Cohen, 1993:132; Jenkins, 2004;

Knight, 2006; Kruger, 2008). As such it will address the frequent estrangement

between musicology and the social sciences by uncovering musical practices not as

socially irrelevant ‘art’ but as forms of identity politics. Consequently, it will not only

be of interest to musicologists but also to scholars engaged in the study of the arts

as domains of social construction.

The expansion of the pilot study

The pilot study was carried out coincidentally in 2014, a year that unfolded as a

watershed in the history of NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus. Accompanying lively, at

times acrimonious public controversy about hostel practices, the transformation of

certain institutional policies and entrenched practices was envisaged, as well as a

redefinition of the relationship between the various campuses of NWU. These

campuses formerly constituted the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher

Education (PU for CHE), the Vaal Triangle Campus at Vanderbijlpark, the University

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of North-West at Mahikeng, and the Sebokeng Campus of Vista University, and they

became amalgamated in 2004.1 This encounter between tertiary institutions

historically located on opposite sides of the racial divide in South Africa has given

rise to a strategy pursuing a shared identity between campuses and across various

institutional fields, from student politics to managerial domains (Jacobs, 2015).

These fields are local social spaces in which the politics of commonality and

uniqueness are enacted – where identities are contested and forged – and which

ultimately also inform the role and status of NWU in national terms. Put differently,

the merger of geographically dispersed campuses and diverse ideologies poses a

special challenge for NWU, but its engagement with institutional redefinition by

means of identity politics is not unique. Current events and debates on South African

university campuses regarding ideology, access to tuition, medium of instruction,

demographics and curriculum have renewed national attention to higher education

as a physical as well as ideological site for the on-going redefinition not only of

universities themselves, but also of the social, political and economic dynamics of

postcolonial South Africa (Kessi, 2015; Muller, 2015).

NWU has accordingly initiated a process of transformation which aims, inter alia, at

altering student demographics on its campuses.2 This demographic shift has

potential implications for established campus and institutional practices, specifically

languages of instruction and official communication, as well as a wide range of

formal and informal student cultural activities. These include the role of musical

practices in identity construction – a process which will arguably become

increasingly dynamic as a corollary of the complexities of changing student

demographics.

The probable role of changing demographics in identity politics does not suggest that

student culture at the Potchefstroom Campus currently – or even historically – lacks

malleability or can be stereotyped. At the same time, campus residences are

1 “The Potchefstroom University for CHE and the University of the North-West should be merged. The Vaal Triangle campus of Potchefstroom University should be retained as part of the merged institution, incorporating the students and staff (but not the facilities) of the Sebokeng campus of Vista University.” (South Africa. Department of Education, 2002:13.)2 The following demographics were envisaged: For Mahikeng, 90% black and 10% white; for the Vaal Triangle campus, 75% black and 25% white; and for the Potchefstroom campus, 30% black and 70% white (Du Preez, 2012:57).

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popularly perceived as pivotal in defining the apparent unique character of local

student life. But while their histories, identities and practices popularly are construed

as the nucleus of a ‘campus identity’, their residents in fact number only about 21%

of the campus total (Du Preez, 2012:57). Approximately 65% of students in fact

lodge privately, while the estimated remaining 12% are members of town residences

(dorpskoshuise).3 All these students self-evidently have access to and may

participate in various cultural practices – including musical discourse – that appear to

harbour deep sensibilities and views about a perceived collective identity. Major

campus-based musical events include rock concerts preceding the annual rag

procession, a ‘talent festival’ (talentfees) featuring a diversity of musical styles as

well as a popular hostel serenading competition (Sêr). The ‘campus identity’ is

further expressed by the NWU anthem4, the NWU-Potchefstroom Choir, the PUK

Serenaders (a vocal ensemble), the NWU-Potchefstroom Orchestra, the

Disfunctional Beat dance group, as well as various ensembles within the NWU

School of Music.

To summarise: Investigations into the dynamics of on-going identity formation at the

Potchefstroom Campus, and in particular among its student populations, are

therefore clearly relevant. The 2014 pilot study offers useful insight into the musical

construction of identity in a particular hostel. However, it has become clear that the

study requires expansion, and that it should also investigate the possible impact on

identity construction of changing student demographics as well as musical practices

that involve a wider selection of on-campus as well as off-campus student

populations (see sampling and delimitation).

3 Each of the eight town residences comprises a maximum of 360 members. While these members in fact lodge privately, they join formal networks that allow them to participate in organised student life (e.g. sport and cultural activities). They have offices and ‘club houses’ on campus where they meet and organise their activities.4 The anthem is comprised of sections in Setswana, Afrikaans and English. It was the result of collaboration between Katlego Maboe, Stefan Pretorius, Michael van der Merwe, Niekie van der Walt and Johan Venter (members of the Flip-a-Coin ensemble) in 2011. An electronic survey allowed lecturers and students to vote for the proposed or existing anthem. The former received 73% of the vote (Msolo, 2011).

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Research objectives

Primary objective:

This investigation aims to investigate the role of musical experiences and expression

in the construction of personal and social identities among selected student

populations at NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus (see sampling and delimitation).

Secondary objectives:

This study will specifically

1. compare the musical construction of identity among selected student populations

resident in campus hostels, private accommodation and town hostels.

2. investigate the possible effect on the musical construction of identity of changing

student demographics on campus.

Research questions

Primary question:

What is the role of musical experiences and expression in the construction of

personal and social identities among selected student populations at NWU’s

Potchefstroom Campus?

Secondary questions:

1. How does the musical construction of identity among selected student populations

resident in campus hostels, private accommodation and town hostels compare?

2. What is the possible effect on the musical construction of identity of changing

student demographics on campus?

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Research method

This study takes the form of an ethnographic investigation aimed at the

comprehensive exploration of culture in action (Wolcott, 2008:72, 242). It strives to

offer “the kind of account of human social activity from which cultural patterning can

be discerned” (Wolcott, 2008:72). This it aims to achieve by analysing personal

accounts of the experiences and worldviews of individuals and groups (a ‘people’)

located in a number of interacting local cultures (Wolcott, 2010:105). Put differently,

it describes lived experience and cultural patterns in ‘natural’ settings – how people

really act, how they describe their actions and how they say they ought to act in

particular situations (Wolcott, 2010:91, 241). The data accumulated in this way are

organised within four categories that circumscribe environmental factors (historical

and physical), social factors (how people group themselves and establish alliances

with others), cultural factors (worldviews) and individual behaviour (how students

enact their personal identities) (Wolcott, 2010:74).

The primary methods for the gathering of data involve semi-structured interviews and

participant observation of musical practices. The interviews will be guided by a

general design and take the form of personal as well as group conversations with

participants. The number of interviews will initially involve as many participants as

are provisionally deemed necessary for a detailed and extensive analysis. The

interview process will continue until data saturation is reached – in other words,

when it becomes apparent that new perspectives are unlikely to emerge from further

investigation, and the data collected are deemed sufficient and manageable by the

researcher.

The role of the researcher as observer and participant aims at achieving a balance

between detachment and involvement (Wolcott, 2008:48). In order to attain this

balance, the actions of experiencing, enquiring and examining – essential to what

the researcher does – will shape the data collection process (Wolcott, 2008:48). In

short, experiencing involves the use of all the senses (first-hand visual and aural

experiences). Enquiring or interviewing in turn takes the form of focused yet flexible

questioning, while examining directs the researcher’s attention to what has been

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produced by others (referring to items such personal letters, diaries, photographs or

any other form of information held by interviewees) (Wolcott, 2008:49, 50).

Data analysis procedures will link with data collection in the sense that categories of

objects, persons and events and the properties which characterise them will be

classed and indexed throughout the investigation (Creswell, 2013:209). As is typical

of an ethnography, data codes will be crystallised from the identification and

description of patterns or themes emerging from interviews and observations. The

data will be organised categorically and chronologically, reviewed repeatedly and

coded continuously. The major themes that emerge will then be chronicled

(Creswell, 2013:210). Measures taken to ensure the validity of data (themes

identified as well as results) will include triangulation, member checking, repeated

observations at the research site and a clarification of researcher bias (Creswell,

2013:210, 211).

Sampling and delimitation

At site level, participants who are substantially involved in musical practices, either

personally and/or institutionally, will be prioritised for interviews to elicit individual as

well as collective perspectives and experiences (Patton, 2001). This strategy links

with the construction of a non-probability sample in which respondents are selected

based on availability and convenience, and cluster sampling in which individuals are

identified within groups or organisations (Creswell, 2013:158). The investigation

therefore will continue to monitor musical practices in Wanda Women’s Residence,

which was the focus of the 2014 pilot study. However, in keeping with the research

objectives, the target population will be expanded to include De Wilgers Men’s

Residence, the town residences of Dinki and Villagers, as well as certain students

who reside in private accommodation. As a general strategy for selection,

interviewees firstly will be identified by means of my social networks that have been

established over a period of five years, and secondly by the interest participants take

in musical, cultural and institutional practices on campus.

The selection of Wanda Women’s Residence has been motivated by my status as

resident since 2011. This offers a valuable inside view, and continuous access to

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residents and relevant cultural practices. I am aware that my insidership may affect

my interpretation, and I will therefore strive to remain as objective as possible

regarding my descriptions and analysis of hostel-specific events and practices.

De Wilgers Men’s Residence is one of the smaller hostels on campus, and it projects

itself as a particularly close-knit student community. It features prominently in

campus sport and cultural events, and it frequently features among the top five in

inter-hostel rugby, the rag procession as well as the serenading competition.

Apart from their engagement with musical practices on campus, residents of Wanda

and De Wilgers also will be identified for interviews on the basis of the extent and

nature of their involvement in hostel life, their knowledge of hostel cultural practices

and their engagement with the debate on institutional transformation. Because the

investigation links identity construction partly with transformation, initial interviews

will be conducted with ‘senior’ students who should be able to offer interpretations of

changing practices and policies over the past few years. Their experiences and

views will then be compared to those of first-year students.

The procedure and criteria for the selection of research participants from the town

residences (Villagers and Dinki) will follow a similar pattern to that which pertains to

campus residences. Here, too, priority will be given to senior5 students observed to

perform prominent roles in relevant domains of hostel life. The specific selection

criteria that apply to hostel residents obviously do not pertain to students who lodge

privately. Nevertheless, here, as part of the general strategy for selection, these

interviewees also will be located via my social network and distinguish themselves

by their involvement in relevant practices.

As indicated, there is an additional need for the study to expand to campus-based

activities that take musical form or involve musical practices. They include the

serenading competition (Sêr), Bingle Sêr (in which men’s and women’s residences

are paired), the famed rock concert that precedes the rag procession, Kaalvoetdag

(Bare-foot Day), Blikkieskosdag (Tinned Food Day) and Skeppende Kunste

(Canvas). 5 Senior students are regarded here as having attended NWU for at least two years.

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The extension of the pilot study to include perspectives on a changing student body

will be effected by identifying a demographically diverse research population for

interviews, and by observing their interaction in musical and related social settings.

In addition, I will attend open meetings of the local Student Representative Council

(SRC), the Wanda House Committee (WHC) and any other relevant accessible

meetings between students and campus management.

SRC and WHC meetings are particularly suitable for uncovering issues relating to

demographic shifts. These meetings are formal occasions allowing students the

opportunity to question SRC and WHC candidates in regard to their leadership

capabilities and their proposed strategies for accommodating diversity and

implementing transformation policies (hence the reference to the meetings as

sweats).

Ethical considerations

Ethical considerations pertain to the identity of interviewees, access to research sites

and the kind of information collected. Participants will be given the choice to withhold

their identity or to withdraw from the investigation during any stage of data collection.

Given the context of institutional transformation in which this study is rooted, any

information collected by means of interviews or field observations which may be

deemed controversial and therefore bring the integrity of NWU into disrepute, will be

evaluated in consultation with all role players (Creswell, 2013:99). Furthermore, the

code of ethics to which research at NWU is subject to, will be adhered to (Creswell,

2013:93). In particular, consent to enter the research field and collect data will be

requested from officials (‘gatekeepers’) administering the selected sites (see

attachments). Contact with these officials will be maintained to ensure that research

procedures conform to and respect established policies of the research sites.

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Dear [name of official]

I hereby request your consent for a study to be conducted among students currently

under your jurisdiction.

I am a M.Mus student at the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University who is

investigating the musical construction of identity among selected student populations

on campus. This project will be conducted under the supervision of prof. Jaco Kruger

of the School of Music.

Data collection will take place through participant observation of musical practices as

well as interviews with selected participants. Research activities will not disrupt

organised student programs or academic activities.

The anonymity of institutions and subjects will be preserved at the participants’

request.

At your request I will provide you with a copy of my dissertation proposal.

You will be provided with a copy of this consent form.

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P/Bag X6001, PotchefstroomSouth Africa, 2520

Tel: 018 299-1111/2222Web: http://www.nwu.ac.za

School of Music & ConservatoireTel: 018 299 1692Faks: 018 299 1705E-mail: 10193405@nwu.ac.za

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank

you for your time and consideration in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Anri Hanekom

School of Music

North-West University

Signed on this ....... day of ....................... at Potchefstroom.

__________________________________________

Name

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Dear [Name of participant]

The following information is provided in order for you to decide whether you wish to

participate in the proposed study.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of musical experiences and

expression in the construction of personal and social identities among selected

student populations at NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus.

I will be collecting data by observing musical practices you may be involved in and

interviewing you individually as well as in group settings. The interviews will be

captured on video camera. You may choose to remain anonymous and therefore

also not to appear on film.

Should you decide to participate, you will be free to withdraw at any time without

affecting your relationship with me, the School of Music or North-West University.

At your request I will provide you with a copy of my dissertation proposal.

You will be provided with a copy of this consent form.

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P/Bag X6001, PotchefstroomSouth Africa, 2520

Tel: 018 299-1111/2222Web: http://www.nwu.ac.za

School of Music & ConservatoireTel: 018 299 1692Faks: 018 299 1705E-mail: 10193405@nwu.ac.za

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank

you for your time and consideration in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Anri Hanekom

Do you want your identity to be kept anonymous?

Yes: No:

Signed on this ....... day of ....................... at Potchefstroom.

__________________________________________

Name

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