CBA Ancestral Villages Mapping Project:

This map is part of an ongoing project in collaboration with the Chinese Benevolent Association of Jamaica (CBA). The story map linked in my portfolio navigates users through an interactive history of the Chinese Jamaican Cemetery in Kingston. Digitally rectified maps of the Qing dynasty (the time period of early Hakka migration to Jamaica) as well as google maps provide users with a historic and modern view of China. The map displays the 290 villages Chinese Jamaican families inhabited prior to leaving China in the 19th century, as well as a directory and crowd sourcing option that allows users to leave messages and stories about their own family. Primary data was collected and translated by the CBA through records found in the Chinese Cemetery. I then geo-referenced the data and created the ArcGIS story map’s site and content. The story map platform provides an interpersonal experience for those searching for their ancestry. As one of my interlocutors noted in an interview, “You may not speak the language, you may not like the food, but it’s still a part of where you’re coming from... you would want to know where and who, and how you got these features.” This map is a part of making those connections a reality.

@thistooisjamaica:

@thistooisjamaica is a photoblog that I started after returning from my second fieldwork trip to Jamaica. While doing fieldwork I captured many amazing pictures and moments, but had nowhere to share them. A quick look at Instagram revealed a preponderance of tourist images: pictures of Red Stripes, Rick's cafe, and tourists enjoying the beach. The images I saw did not reflect the Jamaica I experienced, nor the population I studied.@thistooisjamaica ismy contribution to expanding this narrative to reflect the diverse stories within the island nation. I am to create a space of mutual understanding that allows Instagram users across the world to engage with images of Jamaica that they may have never seen or imagined. On the blog I share images from the field as well as short stories/historical information I learned while doing fieldwork.

ChinaVine Project:

As an undergraduate at the University of Central Florida I conducted ethnographic research and developed content for the ChinaVine project—a collaborative Chinese folklore program that incorporates research from museums, universities, and cultural institutions. My first project was a paper documenting the history of the Peking Opera. I spent a semester collecting primary and secondary sources and writing content for the project. In 2012 I organized a small team of videographers and photographers to collect ethnographic data at the Beijing Opera Arts College. There my team and I observed, interviewed, documented (video and photography) K-12 students at the Opera school who were training to become Peking Opera actors. I later compiled and edited this data, which was added to the ChinaVine website.