Blog post #4

My topic for the research project is how did Western Africa and British cultures shape Barbados. The highlights of my research was that it was easy to find my sources. After our lesson in the library my sources came up right away. Also, it was easy to cite my sources. On most of them easy bib worked, but I had to do a couple of them manually. A challenge I came upon was figuring out how to incorporate my sources into my essay. I did not know which source to use for each paragraph. I did not figure out where to use them, until after I annotated them. Another challenge I had was putting my outline together. I did not know what ideas to incorporate at first. To know what to actually write about I made a brainstorming outline. That really helped, because all I had to do was put my ideas into sentences. Some interesting facts on my project were the traditions of the Barbados cultures. They are very different from other traditions. Music, dancing, and festivals are very important in the Western African and British cultures. Barbados even hosts huge festivals that everyone goes to for the different foods and bands. A popular band is the tuk band. They consist of a double-headed bass drum, triangle, flute and a snare drum(as seen in the photo); the traditional fiddle has most recently been replaced by the penny whistle. They are at a lot of the festivals, and are very entertaining. Next I plan to research how these cultures influenced the people. I want to know the negatives and positives that the people face. I will also research how the cultures were practiced back then and now. I want to compare and contrast them for a better understanding of the cultures, and history.