Ethnographic Study of New England Island Dance Festival

The socio-historical theories that combine to form the conceptual framework related to my focus on the New England Island Dance Festival center on situated learning, figured worlds (Holland et al., 1998), legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991), and positionality (Greeno, J. G., & Gresalfi, M. S., 2008).  The combination of these theories emphasizes how learning takes place through past experiences, leading to a shared understanding of a figured world (Holland et al., 1998). The theory of positionality (Greeno, J. G., & Gresalfi, M. S., 2008) emphasizes that our social position, along with the various intersecting identities we hold, influences our perspectives and understanding of the world. The combination of how learning occurs through past experiences creating a shared understanding of a figured world (Holland et al., 1998) in combination with the reality that newcomers learn their craft and place within a community through experience and apprenticeship weave together to form a balanced platform for analysis.