Project description
Reclaiming culture, land, and self in later life
For many Native Hawaiians, ageing with dignity means staying connected to land, culture, and spirit. But over a century of US colonisation has marginalised their voices and distorted their traditions. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the STEP project explores hula; not as a tourist spectacle, but as a decolonial, spiritual practice that fosters well-being and sustainability in later life. Through fieldwork in Hawaii and California, the project delves into how hula empowers older women and challenges stereotypes. By combining ethnomusicology, ecosomatics, and embodied research, STEP sheds light on how movement and music can reconnect people with nature and themselves. This study brings insights to global conversations on gender, ageing, and environmental consciousness.
Objective
This project examines Hawaiian hula dance as a decolonial spiritual practice, which expands the possibilities of living a sustainable and fulfilling life at old age. While traditional Hawaiian ways of living and relating with the land serve as an inspiration for environmentally conscious groups, there is little awareness of the reality of native Hawaiians, who have been expropriated and marginalised in their own land since the annexation of Hawaii by the USA in 1898. Ethnographic fieldwork in California and Hawaii will allow to understand how Hawaiians have used cultural practice to challenge the USA impositions and to transform stereotypical views about Hawaiian culture, gender, and sexuality. I will combine collaborative ethnomusicology and learning to perform as a research method with ecosomatics – the study of the subjective experience of self in relation with the natural world – to learn how hula practice responds to the pressing need of embedding personal transformation and spiritual experience in social reality and struggle. This study will constitute a significant step in advancing the research on gender and sexuality to include understudied experiences of older people. In particular, I will explore the impact of creative self-expression and gendered movement of the physical and mental wellbeing of older women practitioners. Contributing to timely conversations in ecomusicology, I conduct ecosomatic analyses of hula and highlight the socio-environmental relevance of introspective movement. Inter-institutional support of Royal Holloway and University of California will allow to realise this innovative research, which will share a new understanding of human-nature relationships with the academic community and the broader society. Research and training with adherence to high-quality EU standards will enhance the career of the researcher and contribute to the academic excellence of both institutions.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
TW20 0EX EGHAM
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.