Saturday, July 28, 2001

Two men have conducted a study that could impact a culture within the United States, Ohio University Southern Campus and the world – and it has already impacted them.

Rural sociologist Dr. Charles W. Jarrett and communication specialist Dr. David M. Lucas conducted a 35-day field experience called the Ethnography Research Project.

They spent June and part of July in the Sea Islands of South Carolina studying the Gullah/Geechee.

These people – descendants of black slaves – have developed a unique language and culture in their relative isolation from the mainland American way of life.

"It was an ambitious project," Lucas said, adding that they had no funding for their research. This did not deter the professors, though.

"We realized it was something we had to do."

Based on others’ research, Jarrett and Lucas believed the Gullah/ Geechee culture was nearly extinct.

"We wanted to do this before the culture couldn’t be studied," Lucas said.

Jarrett said he had been aware of the Gullah/Geechee culture for some time due to his frequent travels in South Carolina. When he switched from an administrative roll to a full-time faculty member, he decided to try to take action on his desire to study this group. Lucas, however, had never heard of the Gullah/Geechee until Jarrett mentioned the people.

"The more he explained," Lucas said, "the more fascinated I became."

The two men’s fields of study -communication and sociology – have a special link in the Gullah/Geechee culture, and they decided to cooperate on the project. This kind of collaboration is not uncommon and often produces more information than a study from a single discipline, Lucas said.

Jarrett and Lucas interviewed leaders in the Gullah/Geechee community, held focus groups and made observations of the people.

They visited Hilton Head, Sullivan’s, St. Helena and Daufuskie islands in South Carolina. They also conducted interviews in Charleston, S.C., Beaufort, S.C., and Savannah, Ga. In addition to researching, they taught a course at the University of South Carolina.

The study was so well-received by the Gullah/Geechee people Jarrett and Lucas have been invited back to continue their work next summer and teach again at USC.

This year’s portion of the project, however, is not complete. Jarrett and Lucas will present papers on the Gullah/Geechee culture to the Rural Sociological Society – the premier sociological society in the world for rural cultures, according to Jarrett – at the annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M. in August. In September, the papers will be presented at the International Meeting of the National Association of African-American Studies in Cancun, Mexico.

More papers are likely to follow these, and both professors will include the study in their classes this year, Lucas said.

In addition to the academic benefits of the study, both researchers said they felt they personally gained from their work in the Sea Islands.

"It was a transforming experience," Jarrett said.

The Gullah/Geechee culture is positive about life and lacks the materialistic values found in mainland lifestyles, they said.

By observing these people, Jarrett said, he learned to slow down, celebrate life and not get caught up in materialism.

Lucas also said he was affected by what he saw in the Sea Islands and has begun to ask why people of Anglo culture cannot learn from other cultures rather than make other cultures be like theirs.

This study is part of the International Awareness Program, which began 10 years ago. Both Jarrett and Lucas have been active in this program’s other activities. Exchange programs and trips to Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia have been part of an effort to create an international component to a regional campus.

And Jarrett and Lucas will continue to collaborate even after they complete their work of the Gullah/Geechee.

"You’re liable to find us anywhere in the world in the next 10 years," Jarrett said with a smile.

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series about a study of the Gullah/Geechee people conducted by Dr. Charles W. Jarrett and Dr. David M. Lucas.