Read It Yourself

The revised version of the project this blog was all about is published and available in print or ebook from Amazon at this link: Playing Pirates by Heather E Dumas. 

#ad (I do make affiliate money if you buy using this link. But I get money anyway from royalties, since I wrote it.)

The Finished Product

It's very satisfying to see my master's thesis in hardcover. Also not too shabby was getting my department's Excellence in Research award for this project. 

Officially Official

It's officially official--my thesis is done! The final copy has been accepted by the graduate college and everything has the green light for graduation in a couple weeks. Now all I have to do is teach and grade papers for the rest of the semester.

It's been a wild ride. I'd been to renfaires before, and I enjoy them or I would never have attempted this project. But just as with anything in life, when you start examining the minutia of something in a new way, it takes on whole new meanings. And of course, whenever you run something through a slew of social theory it always comes out sounding both impressively complex and ultimately simple at the same time...at least for me. 

No spoilers on the findings in the final paper. However, as per my university's policy, it did get uploaded to OhioLINK and should show up on a Google search by some time later this year. (I still get a weird feeling in my belly every time I think about that, like my butterflies aren't sure if they're going to be sick.)

No pirates were harmed during this research project...although a few did ask to be flogged later, because they like it. 

Thesis Defense

My thesis defense was this afternoon, and I passed. There are still a few minor tweaks that the paper needs to be perfect. But the important thing is that I survived the process. And no, it was not the torturous grilling over red hot coals that so many people have described to me. There were a few tough questions, but that's the point. It's been nice to work with a committee--and especially the professor who has been my committee chair--who want me to succeed at this. Now, to fix those bits that still need seeing to before the end of the week so I can get this turned in and graduate on time. 

No pirates were harmed in the defense of this thesis paper. (And you thought there was no way to mention pirates in this post.) 

First Draft

The first draft of my thesis is finished and has been sent off to my committee chair for her feedback. In the meantime, I've been working with the draft I have, formatting it to the university's standards. Who knew APA 5 was going to become valuable again? There will be edits to make before the final copy is ready for reading, I'm certain.

 It's coming down to the time when things are going to get serious with deadlines, oral defense, and graduation looming on the horizon. About time.

Nerd Heritage

In case any of my adoring fans (or professors who might be stalking me online to see how this project is progressing *waves hello*) were wondering, I'm into the intensive writing phase of this project now. Today's highlight is that I have successfully and cleverly used the phrase "nerd heritage" in a sociological paper, related to the expression of a connection to or identifying with various fandoms and minutia of popular culture (ex. Browncoats, Trekkies, Whovians). This is a proud day for geekdom, or at least a small moment of amusement for me. The thesis-ing process continues. I have set myself the deadline to have a first "real" draft in the hands of my advisor by the first of March (or there about). Right now there's only about 31 pages (mostly lit review)--not pretty ones either--excluding the four pages of bibliography (which probably need to be cleaned up too). But it's a work in progress; this is the final stretch and I can see where things are going.

The End of One Phase and the Beginning of Another

This year's renaissance festival season here in this part of the Midwest has come to a close, and along with it the data collection portion of my thesis project. I have had an incredible amount of fun and learned a great deal--about my research subjects, myself as a researcher, and how this whole process works. I have collected a notebook and a half full of field notes and many, many hours of recorded interviews. The photographs alone could be used for more than one entirely separate content analysis project as well.

Now comes the long tedious winter of transcription, analysis, and writing. It is my intention to have a completed draft of this paper by March, if not sooner. My biggest problem now is to make myself sit down and continue to work on this project instead of staring another. However, once older weather sets in that may not be as much of a temptation. I may be happy to be able to sit at home and write instead of braving the elements!

I got a lot of encouragement from my professors, my friends, and even those rennies with whom I spoke about my project. And it seemed like so many conversations produced new ideas for potential future studies that I could write about this for years to come. I certainly feel like I have enough data to sift through for a while...

I'm sad to see this part of things end, but excited to finally see the finished product (and get my degree!) when this is completed. There will be updates posted to this blog still as things happen, or as fun insights might emerge from the data that seem appropriate to share. So don't lose the link.

Birthday Loot and the End of Data Collection

First, I can announce that he data collection portion of my thesis project is officially concluded. Not that I ever really stop gathering information, but I'm done in the strictest sense. I have hours and hours of recorded interviews to transcribe, and about a book and a half of various field notes and personal musings about the project to go through. And the lit review is sort of almost to a rough draft. So that's another step along the path...

Also, it was my birthday last week. And rennies have a tradition of pinning money--as a birthday gift--on the clothing of the birthday person. My observation over the years is that this cash is then often spent on alcohol, but that is a generalization and by no means expected.

I got a lot of "Happy Birthday"s from random people who recognized the money pinned to my shirt as a renfaire birthday tradition. The guys I was there with, who are relatively new to faire (or at least not truly immersed in the subculture) asked about both the money and how people it was my birthday. To which I gave the same explanation. So this is me with birthday loot pinned to my blouse. I didn't go very far in funding my research, but it was enough to pay for my lunch.

"Kickstarting" Field Research Funding

I've launched a small fund raising  project through Kickstarter to help cover travel costs for my field research on this thesis. I will be travelling to various sites, conducting interviews and collecting data. But, as we all know, gas is not cheap! (And really, that's the largest expense on this thing, along with things like food and batteries for my recorder.) So I'm hoping to supplement some of the costs through the generous donations of friends and other interested individuals.

When I say that every little bit helps, I mean it. The minimum donation is $1. Of course, I hope contributors will feel able to go for more than that. But helping with this does have a few small benefits, among them is the satisfaction of knowing that you contributed to an academic endeavor. (And if you happen to be a fan of renaissance faires, it will be that much cooler.)

Renaissance Faire Thesis Research

Please, click the link and take a moment to help out a grad student trying to do a little research. And...there are pirate photos in my funding proposal video.

Thanks to everyone who contributes, and to everyone who shares the link. You never know who you know who might be able to help too.

Research Questions and Relevant Literature

This may be a little boring for those of you who are only looking for "No sh!t, there I was" stories or pictures of pirates. However, since you made it past the first sentence, I'm assuming you might have an more scholarly interest in this project. So here's a short description of the project, including some of the main research questions and a very short reference to some of the relevant literature. I won't make you read my whole lit review (even if it were done, which is it soooo not). Here goes...

Studies of social deviance have pointed to retreatism into subculture as an adaptation which allows for more authentic identity expression. This study will examine how the renaissance festival setting offers a context for non-normative identity performance within a carnivalesque setting in which the construction of shared fantasy is the basis of social processes. It will also ask how social strain combined with the influence of popular media may influence participants toward retreatism in the subculture as a social setting in which they can find meaningful interaction with others who share their social paradigm and romanticized version of history.

This study seeks to answer several questions relevant to existing scholarly literature in the fields of sociology, performance studies, and fandom and leisure.

How is the shared fantasy of romanticized history constructed at renaissance festivals and within the “rennie” subculture? Fine (1983) addresses the social construction of shared fantasy in role playing games. The similar element of an idealized historical context exists in both settings, as well as many of the popular cultural influences which may inform participants’ performances of self and shared meanings of interactions. Kirol-Evans, in her book Renaissance Festivals: Merrying the Past and Present (2009), considers the intrasticive nature of this social setting in which the 21^st and 16^th centuries exist simultaneously, giving a rich description of both setting and performance with particular attention to the variation in levels of immersion. Themes of play (Huizinga 1950) and social construction (Berger & Luckmann 1966) also inform this study.

How do participants become interested and involved in this subculture? Both Korol-Evans and Cramer (2010) explore the medieval re-creationist subculture, describing the initiatory process of becoming involved and what factors influence that process. Experts in social deviance, Becker (1963) and Agnew (1997) both offer insight into deviant subculture involvement.

How is identity performed in the renaissance festival setting? What influences the construction of these presumably alternate or non-normative identity performances, and how do they differ from identities performed outside the festival or the subculture? Goffman’s classic, The Performance of Self in Everyday Life (1959), is the canonical basis for studies of social and identity performance, and provides a theoretical basis for exploring the variation in front stage and backstage identities and interactions. However, as appears to be the nature of this subculture, the fantasy element in identity performance (Fine 1983, Korol-Evans 2009, Cramer 2010) leaves many questions concerning how these fantasies are constructed, how they manifest at the renaissance festival, and even why this social environment in particular is so conducive to their expression.

And to what degree participation in renaissance festivals and affiliation with this subculture affect participants’ lives outside of the renaissance faire? Korol-Evans and Cramer discuss the juxtaposition of “real life” to the immersive world of the festival setting. And deviance theorists such as Agnew and Becker provide a framework for examining social strain and outsiderdom, respectively. However, questions remain unanswered as to how participation in the renaissance festival as a social setting affects participants’ lives outside the faire and during the off season. 

References               
Agnew, Robert. 1997. “The Nature and Determinants of Strain: Another Look at Durkheim and Merton.” Pp. 27-51 in The Future of Anomie Theory, edited by N. Passas and R. Agnew. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press.
Bakhtin, Mikhail. 1968. Rabelais and His World. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Becker, Howard S. 1963. Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. The Free Press, New York.
Berger, Peter and Thomas Luckmann. 1966. The Social Construction of Reality. New York: Anchor Books.
Cramer, Michael. 2010. Medieval Fantasy as Performance. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Fine, Gary A. 1983. Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Goffman, Erving. 1959. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Anchor Books.
Huizinga, Johan. 1950. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Korol-Evans, Kimberly T. 2009. Renaissance Festivals: Merrying the Past and Present. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. 

Ahoy! and Well Met

Capt. Emeleth MacCreedy
of the Mist Reaver

My name is Heather Dumas, Em to my friends, and I'm working on a master's degree in sociology at Ohio University. I'm about to embark on a research project that will culminate in my master's thesis.

If geeks are people who are super passionate about their hobbies, and nerds are really academically minded, then I'm a geek nerd. (Or as one friend put it, a "gnerd.") I am really interested in what sociologists call deviant subcultures--but not so much the criminal element as those fringe groups of people who like to live life, or at least part of it, a bit differently. Many of the groups I like to study usually have some element of dressing in some rather weird clothing and/or in some way portraying a persona that is not the one the everyday world sees...usually. This is how I ended up studying the people at renfaires. That's short for renaissance faires, and the extra "e" is an intentional use of the old fashioned spelling used by members of this subculture.

Yes, that's me dressed as a pirate, "Captain Emeleth MacCreedy," since it is customary to take on a renaissance era persona while at faire. (You were here for the pirates after all, right?) This is a participant observer study, meaning that I get to jump right in there and play along with everyone else at the faire. I've actually done a little research on renfaires before, as an undergrad, and have developed a network of informants, as we call them in this academic discipline, who have graciously accepted me as part of the crew, as it were. You'll hear more about them later, since they are the real stars of this show--they're who I'm writing about--the cast, playtrons, boothies, and other rennies.

This blog is to keep interested parties informed of my progress, and to let my friends read about those adventures which will never make it into the academic article that is the final product of this research. My field research will take place starting in early June and continue through late October. I'll be interviewing people at faires, along with taking lots of notes and photographs (pictures are sometimes worth a thousand words in field notes). More on that later. Until then... Wind in yer sails!