‘Becoming-Cajun’*

Abstract

This essay is a re ection on the circum stances that led m e to a particular research project, on C ajun dance and m usic spaces, and also on the project's m utations through subsequent phases of developm ent. Above all, this essay attem pts to take stock of the dif culties -personal, scholarly, and theoretical -as well as the personal choices that have gone into developing an ongoing scholarly project. W hile I indicate the im portance of the exper iences of per sonal pleasure that originally inspired my researc h, I also show how the personal and the pleasurable often necessarily encounter tensions and even cer tain kinds of con ict w hen linked to a 'disciplinary' dom ain. This essay therefore traces a particular exam ple of how 'cultural studies travels' both geog raphically w ithin a life and disciplinarily within som ething that has com e to be know n as 'French cultural studies'. K eyw ordsFrench cultural studies; Cajun m usic; Cajun dance; C ajun studies; authenticity; identity D U R I N G A N A L L too brief four year period, I began to devote myself actively to the truly pleasurable pursuits of 'becom ing-C ajun', a 'Cajunby-choice' as m any native and non-native Louisianans are often wont to say. This pursuit w as an avocation born of a happy coincidence of geography (living in N ew O rleans), personal interests (a desire to becom e fam iliar w ith the regional folk practices and culture), and per sonal encounters w ith a diverse group of Cajun dance/m usic a cionados. Subsequently, despite a professionally m andated displacem ent to D etroit, I refused to let go of the rew arding activities and enriching friendships that 'becom ing-Cajun' had afforded. Thus, since 1990, I have Charles J. Stivale 'BECOMING-CAJUN'* C U L T U R A L S T U D I E S 1 4 ( 2 ) 2 0 0 0 , 1 4 7 -1 7 6Cultural Studies ISSN 0 950-23 86 pr int/ISSN 1466-4 348 onlin e