On the Brink of Change

One of the reasons rural Asante Ghana has been such a fascinating field site is because of its highly transitory state of “development,” for lack of a better word. I really was not sure what to expect upon arrival. I was not sure how touched by the almost all-encompassing hand of Westernization and globalization the country has been. I have only traveled briefly to a couple of other countries outside of the United States before Ghana, and have never done any type of thorough study, so I realize I do not really have anything to accurately compare it to, but for me it has seemed that the region of Ghana I am living in is hovering between a complete sort of Americanized development and the stereotypical standard of living often identified with complete underdevelopment.

For example, a boy might have to fetch water from a well because his household lacks running water, but he walks to the well in his Nike Air shoes. Or a farmer in the bush might not have electricity, and live in a mud hut, but he lights his home at night with a battery-operated flashlight. A girl might go to the market to buy yams pulled the very same day from the ground in a nearby farm, and maybe will help slaughter a chicken that night for the family dinner with bare hands, but she also has a Facebook account.

And I know that these observations are pretty tip-of-the-iceberg (for any fellow field studiers reading this), but I have just found the juxtaposition of really familiar Westernized culture with a type of agricultural, peasant village life culture very foreign to the West, a very interesting part of my experience here.

This has really played a role in why I have found my actual project so interesting. I have been looking at the cross-generational perspectives towards farming in the area, and how these, the rapidly increasing access to formal education, and other social infrastructural issues, have caused a recent movement towards white collar jobs, and an abandonment of seeing farming as a viable option for leading a successful life. The transitional state of Ghana’s development has obviously played a role in this shift of occupational pursuits, and I can see this in the interview answers I get from the young and old alike. The young talk about wanting to play an important role in the society, and link this to things like driving a car, wearing a tie or nice uniform, etc. The old speak of how the world is changing, how their children and grandchildren understand computers and other complexities of the “modern” world.

Whether all the changes taking place have more negative or more positive implications, it is just really incredible to see how such a visibly ongoing transition in a country takes huge affects on both social structure and culture norms.