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Where's the Roda?: Understanding Capoeira Culture in an American Context

Humphrey, Ashley Renee
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1543574890650575

Abstract Details

2018, Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, Music Ethnomusicology.
The Afro-Brazilian martial art of capoeira has become an increasingly popular sport in the United States. Capoeira performances consist of a back-and-forth exchange of movements between two players in conjunction with a musical ensemble to accompany the physical display. Since the introduction of capoeira in the United States in the 1970s, capoeira has become the focus of various social institutions. The objective of this thesis is to acknowledge and problematize the impact American culture has made on capoeira aesthetics. The methods for this thesis included research in the fields of ethnomusicology, anthropology, post-colonial theory, and transatlantic studies. Fieldwork was conducted to acquire first hand accounts of capoeira practitioners from the Michigan Center for Capoeira. Lastly, an analysis of the portrayal of capoeira in the media examines how capoeira is showcased to audiences in the United States. Historical accounts, academic discourse, capoeira practitioners, and popular culture reveal how American culture has received capoeira. My research has shown that capoeira culture is represented and interpreted by various groups, such as scholars, American capoeira academies, and the media. These different interpretations have resulted in the displacement, fragmentation, or misrepresentation of capoeira history in the context of American culture. I conclude that dominant social structures have inherently changed how capoeira is discussed in academia, practiced in American academies, and portrayed in the media. Dominant social structures in the United States favor product over process. For capoeira, valuing product over process means highlighting performance and devaluing various Afro-diasporic rituals and practices. My solution to avoid fragmentation and misinterpretation of capoeira culture is to reiterate the importance of the African diaspora to practicing capoeira students in the United States. Acknowledging American capoeiristas as capoeira ambassadors will regulate how non-practitioners depict and discuss capoeira, which will result in a holistic representation of the sport.
Kara Attrep (Advisor)
Megan Rancier (Committee Member)
97 p.
African Studies; Dance; Ethnic Studies; History; Latin American History; Latin American Studies; Music; Music Education
Capoeira; Sports; Martial Art; Martial Arts; Afro-Brazilian; Africana; African Diaspora; Music; Ethnomusicology; Popular Culture; Popular Music; Media Studies; Brazil; North America; Game; Dance; Post-Colonial Studies

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Humphrey, A. R. (2018). Where's the Roda?: Understanding Capoeira Culture in an American Context [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1543574890650575

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Humphrey, Ashley. Where's the Roda?: Understanding Capoeira Culture in an American Context. 2018. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1543574890650575.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Humphrey, Ashley. "Where's the Roda?: Understanding Capoeira Culture in an American Context." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1543574890650575

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1543574890650575
3,551
© 2012, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Where's the Roda?: Understanding Capoeira Culture in an American Context by Ashley Renee Humphrey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.