Fuji Lozada's Fieldnotes

Anthropologist at Davidson College

  • About Fuji
    • c.v.
    • Email me
    • Meet with me
  • Teaching
    • Previously Taught Classes
    • Teaching Style
      • Complex social theory can be said in plain English
      • Social/cultural theory should be relevant
      • Methodology is Important
      • Writing is a form of thinking
        • Writing a strong thesis statement
        • Making an Argument
        • Response Papers
      • Doing your own field-based research is the best way to learn about anthropology
    • Davidson in China
  • Research
    • Projects
    • Abstracts
    • My Work as a Wordle
    • Fieldnotes
      • Ghana
      • Cyberia
      • Youtube Worth Watching
  • Hack College
    • Make the digital work for you
    • Stalking your professors using Outlook
    • Read with an agenda
    • Write a research proposal
    • Outline to make research easier
    • Use theory
    • Write a literature review
    • Structure of an abstract
    • Notes on teaching and learning

Ghana!

May 29, 2008 By Fuji

Today was my first day in Ghana; I left around 5:00 pm from JFK in New York, and arrived the following morning around 9:30 am in Kotoko International Airport in Accra, Ghana. The plane was about an hour late because we had to stop in Dakar, Senegal to refuel – for reasons unknown and mysterious. Aunt Aggie was there to meet me as soon as I got out the door, and we went straight to her house in Tema.

I’m in Ghana for two reasons – for preliminary fieldwork on a new research project exploring the impact of Chinese economic development efforts in Ghana (results from the China Africa Development Fund announced in 2006), and to prepare to be director of Davidson’s program in Ghana. So of course, one of the first things I see is the craze for soccer in Ghana! (My old research project was on issues of sports and society in China).

I started the ground running – around 5 pm that afternoon, I was introduced to Francis who knew some Chinese businessmen in Tema. Tema is a major port city in Ghana, where ships filled with containers for importing into Ghana dock to drop off their goods. The factory that I visited was run by a man from Hong Kong – there are only about 5 Chinese people who work in this plant; most of the workers are Ghanaian. The factory produces plastic products – most notably, the black or white plastic bags that are ubiquitous in small Ghanaian stores. They also make styrofoam food containers, for take out meals. What you see in the picture above is the re-starting of a machine that makes styrofoam sheets; these are later molded into the desire shapes of the container, and cut by the people working in the factory.
It’s a good start to my fieldwork – a factory on the first day, with promises of more to follow up on. It is pretty hot out, but it’s a heat that I can get used to.

Filed Under: Anthropology, China, Ghana


Eriberto P. Lozada Jr. is Associate Dean of Faculty, Professor of Anthropology and Environmental Studies, and Director of the Crosland Center for Teaching & Learning. He is a sociocultural anthropologist who has examined contemporary issues in Chinese society ranging from: religion and politics; food, popular culture and globalization; sports and society issues; and the cultural impact of science and technology. more...

Crosland Center for Teaching & Learning
Davidson College
Davidson, NC 28035 USA

office: Little Library 1005
tel. 704-894-2035
erlozada [at] davidson.edu

Make the digital work for you

Essential Tools (mostly free) (Updated, 16 March 2017) Technological literacy (something I really need to define later) is essential to getting things done in today’s mediated world. There are a lot of useful applications out there that will cut back on the tears or punched walls late in the semester. Below are some of the […]

Meet with Me

RSS shanghaiist

  • Travelers from 8 more countries will be quarantined upon arrival in Shanghai
  • Britannica Online Open Day, an Access to an Offer Letter Now

RSS anthro{dendum}

  • Unexpected happiness in virtual spaces.
  • Quaran-teens Class of 2021: COVID-19’s Impact on Our Everyday Use of Technology

Men’s Lacrosse at Davidson

The Davidson College Men's Lacrosse team is a member of the Southeastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) and competes in Division II of the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association.

Tweets by @thefieldworker

Copyright © 2021 Eriberto P. Lozada Jr. · Davidson College