Browsing by Author "Salmivuori, Rosa"

This Master’s thesis is about sense of self and sense of belonging in the context of breakdancing women in the City of New York. It examines breakdancing women who have been through difficult situations in their lives. The study tries to understand how these women use breakdance as an empowering tool to create stronger sense of self while participating in a 10-week long breakdance workshop series. This thesis is based on a three month long fieldwork conducted in the City of New York during summer and autumn 2015. The ethnographic fieldwork was conducted by following the workshop series held by a dance company that organizes breakdance workshops for women facing struggles in their lives. The main research methods are participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and informal conversations. In total, 10 people were interviewed. The participant observation included following of the dance workshops and taking part in conversational cyphers after each class, participating in different breakdance events, and watching performances. The theoretical framework of this thesis is based on different theories of self. Firstly the concept of self is examined on a general level and the anthropological discussion of self is introduced. Secondly the theories of self are examined in relation to society and body. The analysis is twofold. First analysis chapter examines how the research participants create sense of self by mastering new skills and taking control over their bodies. Then it goes deeper to the concept of self to explore how sense of self is produced in relation to others and how it turns to agency. At this point analysis takes the sense of belonging into account and the data is viewed from more social perspective. The key findings in this thesis are that sense of self and sense of belonging are tightly connected to one another and together they can create agency. In the context of this thesis sense of self is created by redefining the self through bodily practices and narratives. By identifying with a group people gain both stronger sense of self and create sense of belonging. Sense of belonging then can be seen as a product of strong sense of self. According to this study both senses of self and belonging are used to create agency.