Reckoning Time in the Barber Shop
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Reckoning Time in the Barber Shop: A Qualitative Study of a Barber Navigating Time, Temporality, and Rhythm Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Thomas M. A’Hearn Graduate Program in Education: Teaching and Learning The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Cynthia Tyson, Advisor Dr. Beverly Moss Dr. Candace Stout Copyrighted by Thomas M. A’Hearn 2014 Abstract This dissertation is a qualitative study of a barber and his navigation of time, temporality, and rhythm in his barber shop. Through the use of a multi-part methodology including bricolage (Levi-Strauss, 1966), rhythmanalysis (Lefebvre, 2004), sensory methodology (Pink, 2009), and creative analytic process ethnography (Richardson, 2005), time is reckoned, learned, and taken into account in a variety of forms. In combination with traditional elements of qualitative and ethnographic research, photography, literature, poetry, and metaphor are employed to represent and evoke everyday life in this dynamic barber shop. Findings support the use of creative qualitative methodology to research complex places in everyday life. In particular, this dissertation highlights the ways in which the barber, as owner-operator of a barber shop, navigates his time in multiple, rhythmic ways in response to unpredictable phenomena. ii This dissertation is dedicated to Slim Klippence: Man amongst men. Barber without peer. Traveller of time and space. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I need to thank everyone at The Cut & Shave Barber Shop. Slim Klippence, thank you for being comfortable and confident enough to allow some weirdo to stare at you for hours, days, and months at a time. The trust, permission, freedom, and encouragement you provided me in order to learn about your world was beyond generous. I know you don’t always hear it, but you are respected and appreciated. Few people see, hear, feel, and sense as much as you. All things considered, I did my best to respectfully represent your complex world. Nancy (Nan) Klippence, thank you for all of your encouragement and for sharing your unique, passionate insights about the shop. Sharon, you are one of a kind, thank you for sharing so much of what you learned about life from “behind the chair.” Lester, thank you for your patience and let your sports teams continue to give you pleasure by disappointing you. Thank you to all the clients who spoke with me and expressed interest in this work. My dissertation committee has been a collective source of patience, support, and insight. My advisor, Dr. Cynthia Tyson, provided me with leadership, support, vision, and respect. True educators demonstrate respect for individuality, learning styles, and multiple ways of being in the world. Thank you, Dr. Tyson, for being such a kind, patient, and perceptive educator. Without your confident assistance, I would not have finished this project. Thank you to Dr. Beverly Moss, for having long been in my corner, keeping your expectations high, and always telling it like it is. Thank you to Dr. Candace iv Stout for your encouragement and always understanding that it makes sense to represent the complexity and unpredictability of the world in ways that are equally creative and intellectually rigorous. Thank you to all my peer de-briefers who each provided me with keen observations that contributed to my understandings of the barber shop. Thank you, Philip, for your astute observations of both Slim and my poem. I understand why Slim respects you, and you him. Thank you to Steve; only in The Cut & Shave could I randomly meet a photographer with technical skills and artistic vision to make my strange ideas jump off the page. Thank you to Karl for providing historical insight, continual interest, and just being you. Thank you to Todd for sharing your sharp impressions and asking good, hard questions. Thank you to Don Coleman for allowing me to include the photograph of your amazing Time Machine (for more information see http://colemanzone.com/Time_Machine_Project/). Thank you to Mike Ippoliti, National Barber Museum Director, for granting me access to the museum archives, sharing his own knowledge, and granting me permission to use the photograph of the barber poles. Most of all, I thank my wife, Valerie. Without you, for many reasons, I wouldn’t be in this position to finally finish school. You provided me with more support, backing, and patience than an outfit of 200 nurses. May we always walk through this world together toward freedom. v Vita 1994................................................................B.A. Political Science, University of Michigan 2000................................................................M.A. English, Wayne State University 2011................................................................M.A. Education, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Education: Teaching and Learning vi Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication.......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Vita..................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents.............................................................................................................. vii List of Images .................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................................1 Preamble ...........................................................................................................................1 The Origin Story ...............................................................................................................3 Time ..................................................................................................................................6 Learning ..........................................................................................................................14 Rhythm............................................................................................................................19 The Spiral Form ..............................................................................................................25 Metaphors of Rhythm .....................................................................................................31 The Time Machine.......................................................................................................31 The Oracle....................................................................................................................34 The Way Station ..........................................................................................................39 Chapter 2: Literature Review.............................................................................................44 vii Preamble .........................................................................................................................44 Introduction to Hair Studies............................................................................................46 A Brief Review of Field Issues.......................................................................................48 Introduction to Rhythmic and Thematic Overview ........................................................53 Energy, Or One Human Element of Rhythm..................................................................59 Identity .........................................................................................................................59 Intimacy .......................................................................................................................64 Emotional Labor ..........................................................................................................67 Staff Relations..............................................................................................................69 Place, Or Where Rhythm Comes Together.....................................................................70 Leadership....................................................................................................................73 Time, or the Temporal Forms of Rhythm.......................................................................75 Language......................................................................................................................76 Learning .......................................................................................................................77 Nostalgia ......................................................................................................................78 Chapter 3: Methodological Approach—Bricolage ............................................................82 Preamble .........................................................................................................................82 Methodologies.................................................................................................................86