PSU Magazine Spring 1992

Dig site in Jamaica PSU Professor Candice Goucher and a handful of Portland State students are helping to add to an important part of African and Caribbean historical under– standing. Last summer Goucher, associate professor of black studies and interna– tional studies, took eight students to Jamaica to work on the excavation of a 220-ye.ar -old brass and iron foundry. The fo undry, located near Morant Bay north of Kingston, only ope rated for 12 years. But the site's archaeological treasures are helping scholars and stu– dents learn more about the importance of African and Ca ribbean metallurgic technology and its association with the vastly different European technology of the time. Students worked at the dig site for 10 days. "This site is an important link between the African and European experiences," Goucher says. British colonists established the fou ndry in 1771 to produce equipment for suga r processing, produce shot fo r weapons, and repair British navy ships. It employed about 300 people of African descent. The colonial Jama ican govern– ment abruptly dismantled the foundry in 1793, fear ing foreign invasion. Goucher is especially interested in the mixture of people employed at the found ry. Some were slaves shipped from Africa. Some were freed Africans. And some were Maroons-escaped slaves who established sovereign strong– holds within Jama ica. Each group brought its own technology to the fo undry. Through artifacts and metal frag– ments discovered in a series of ar– chaeological digs, Goucher has determined the ex tent of African metallurgic technology. "For fuel, African-based industries continued to use charcoal from hardwood trees rather than coa l, as the British did . The use of fuel would dictate the varying methods of casting and forging." Goucher, who discovered the ite's ex istence three years ago, says the 4 PSU findings indicate that African metallur– gical technology played a much more important role in the Caribbean than historians first believed. "As historians, we've looked at other aspects of the Caribbean culture, such as dance and music, but little else– where. When it came to the subject of technology, the assumption has been that the African technology couldn't compete favorab ly with the European methods. We're questioning that assumption now." Goucher has researched the fo undry for five years, ass isted by the University of the West Indies Mona campus and the Jamaican Heritage Trust. She plans to take another group of PSU students to Jamaica for additional excavation work in 1993, possibly linking up with the University of the West Indies. "We already have a waiting list of 16 students. They're from a mix of dis– ciplines-geology, anthropology, politi– cal science," Goucher says. "We'll expand the program in the future, and we hope this will be the basis fo r an ongoing overseas program for the Black Studies Department." Recording artist, pianist, composer, scholar and jazz legend Andrew Hill is in residence this spring in the PSU Music Department. He is teaching two courses in jazz improvization as part of the University's Jazz Studies Program. American opera featured The title role in Carl isle Floyd's opera, Susannah, was originally written for and performed by Phyllis Curtin in 1956. Curtin, now dean of the Music School at Boston University, will be on cam– pus as a consu ltant for the May 29- June 7 performances of this PSU spring opera production. Considered one of the most acces– sible of contemporary operas, Susannah has a unique American flavor. Based on the Biblical story of Susannah and the elders, the opera tells the story of a young Appalachian girl seduced by an evange listic preacher. Stage director for the spring produc– tion is Allan Nause, artistic director of the Artists' Repertory Theater, and an awa rd-winning actor and director. Musica l direction will be provided by Ruth Dobson, well-known soprano and coach of award-winning voca lists. The title role will be sung by Kelley Nassief and Coral Walterman, both award-win– ning lyric sopranos and products of PSU's vocal program. Susannah will be presented Fridays and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. in Lincoln Performance Hall. Tickets, $ 10 general and $8 fo r senior adu lts and children, can be purchased in advance through the PSU Ticket Office, corner of SW Fifth and Mil l Street, 725-3307. Funding on the increase Grant and contract funding of facu lty research and scholarship at PSU is up significantly for 199 1-92. As of January 3 1, 1992, the Univer– sity had been awarded $5.6 million, a 40 percent increase in funding as com– pared to the same period last fiscal year. C. William Save ry, vice provost for G rad uate Studies and Resea rch predicts that by the end of the yea: awards will total $8 million compared to last year's $5.8 million. The largest increases in grant and contract awards are going to the Schools of Business Administration Engineering and Applied Science, ' Extended Studies, and Socia l Work. Each is up 50 percent or more as com– pared with last yea r.