We are pleased to announce the newest member to join Institut de diplomatie publique- Rohan Sagar/ Guyana
Educational Qualifications:
PHD Western and Non-Western Education and Philosophy, Western Norway University of Applied Science, Bergen Norway (In progress)
University of Bergen, 2018 Applied Community Change & Conservation, Multidisciplinary MA, Year 2012,
Rohan Sagar read for his Master’s Degree at Future Generations University, in his thesis he argued for a multicultural approach to music education in Guyana where he resides.
Rohan is also an ethnomusicologist presently conducting investigations in the traditional musics of Guyana amongst the Native American, African and East Indian populations.
His most recent project was research assistant to the Evolutionary Psychology project with Harvard University.
PhD Research area and interest:
Independent Researcher, Cultural Philosophy, Cultural diplomacy.
Publications
Sagar, Rohan, and David G. Hebert. 2015. Research-based curriculum design for multicultural school music: Reflections on a national project in Guyana. Action, Theory, and Criticism for Music Education 14(2): 145–73. act.maydaygroup.org/articles/SagarHebert14_2.pdf
Ethnic Conversations in Sonic Spaces
Rohan’s study examines the historical settlement, cultural identities and values, the phenomenon of music, and the role of music in the preservation and sustenance of ethnic and cultural identities in Guyana. The research focuses on three distinct but interrelated subjects: the historical settlement in Guyana, traditional and contemporary musical genres of Guyana, and the development of an integrated music curriculum. He provides an overview of historical colonization and the exploitation of human and economic capital by Europe which led the way for ethnic and communal interdependence. Rohan’s research reconstructs the social environment that enabled specific compositions and music performances to foster inter-ethnic peace, harmony, and communal transformation. His study concludes by advocating an expanded music curriculum that interrogates the legitimacy of Guyana six ethnic and cultural identities, and advances the historical social and cultural context that created Guyana’s education system. Rohan concludes his study with a newly developed music curriculum for Guyana that will restore, revitalize, and sustain ethnic and cultural values while building a tolerant, bonded society.
About Rohan Sagar
Rohan Sagar founded the Harpy Eagle Music Foundation. Rohan Sagar was born on the 24th November 1967 in the Rupununi, in the town of Lethem; a small outpost on Guyana's southwestern border with Brazil. The area known for rolling savannahs and imposing mountain ranges, is home to a number of Amerindian (indigenous) communities and also the northern ranges of the Kanuku Mountains.
Rohan spent the early years of his childhood in the Rupununi and several other remote parts of Guyana including living at the foot of the Pakaraima's mountain range and the Mazaruni. These early experiences left a great impression on him and greatly influenced his appreciation of and love for indigenous culture and musical heritage. Later, as his music career developed he expanded his interest in several music forms including the drums.
Rohan Sagar and several other likeminded musicians formally founded the Harpy Eagle Music Foundation in the 2005. The Foundation was started in response to the gradual erosion of the music of the indigenous peoples and Afro-Guyanese of Guyana.
