Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Perpetual Progression In The Schleswig-Holstein Duchy: History, Politics, And Religion, 1460-1864, Christian Anthony Ahlers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

German nationalism in the Schleswig and Holstein duchies that predates the German Unification Wars of the Nineteenth Century continuously transformed in response to Danish encroachment, civic disputes regarding treaty legitimacy, and war. The Germans in the duchies fought to retain their ancestral homelands and, in doing so, embraced a pan-Germanic consciousness that is the foundation for early modern nationalism. This consciousness dates back hundreds of years. This case study examines the Germans of Schleswig and Holstein and their experiences with the consistent and pressing Danish encroachment. Despite the encroachment, the Germans remained connected with their culture, traditions, religion, and their …

Theorizing Folk Cinema, Cora M M Lewis

Media and Cultural Studies Honors Projects

This honors project theorizes the concept of folk cinema. The project grapples with the complex history of the study of folklore and cinema’s historic inaccessibility as a medium in order to position folk cinema as a revolutionary project capable of reimagining both cinema and folklore. Avoiding concrete definitions or the urge to label any specific films as folk cinema, the project explores folk cinema theoretically through the experimental Spanish short film Aguaespejo Granadino, the films of the Bolivian Third Cinema filmmaking collective the Ukamau Group, and finally my own creative intervention via the creation of a short diary film.

Regional Folk Beliefs, Edward D. Ives

Dr. Edward D. Ives Papers

This accession contains over 4,000 folk beliefs organized on individual, 4x6-inch index cards. A majority of the belief cards were collected by students participating during the 1960s as part of the American Folklore course taught by Dr. Edward D. “Sandy” Ives. Folk beliefs originate primarily from Maine and the Maritimes, but occasionally extend into other areas. Each download contains a copy of the 1965 syllabus for American Folklore, explaining the assignment given to students.

Please Note: A significant number of these cards are handwritten and are not currently available as typed transcriptions. The belief cards are organized into categories noted …

Page, Tate Cromwell "Piney," 1908-1984 (Fa 1397), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1397. Papers of Page, former Dean of the College of Education at Western Kentucky University, primarily concerning his work documenting the people, places, history and folklore of the Ozarks region in Arkansas where he was raised. Also includes his photographs of historic structures, made mostly in western Kentucky.

Deep Ecology, Nature Spirits, And The Filipino Transpersonal Worldview, Carl Lorenz Cervantes

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

Many Filipinos today still believe that the world is filled with invisible entities who can affect their lives in a tangible way. These beings usually reside in nature as the souls of ancestors or other mysterious spirits. This indigenous transpersonal worldview implies that the individual is part of a living world. The modern term “deep ecology” seems to be aligned with this worldview. This paper looks at the implications of the Filipino transpersonal worldview on policies related to the care for environment and biodiversity.

There's A Duwende On My Shelf: The Parapsychological Studies Of Fr. Jaime C. Bulatao, Sj, Carl Lorenz Cervantes

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

In the Filipino transpersonal worldview, the mind is not contained within the brain, and is often projected onto the world as “spirits”. Studying these cultural metaphors may allow for a deeper understanding of the Filipino psyche. Fr. Jaime C. Bulatao, SJ, one of the founders of the Psychological Association of the Philippines, studied the projections of the Filipino psyche as they manifested in paranormal phenomena. Bulatao provides the metaphor of eggs frying in a pan as a framework to understand this: the egg whites fuse despite the yolks being far apart. It is in the dissolution of boundaries that transpersonal …

Exploring Food Traditions Within The Four Quarter Days Of The Irish Calendar Year, Caitríona Nic Philibín

Dissertations

This study explores food traditions in the four quarter days of the Irish calendar year. Imbolg or St. Brigid’s Day, Bealtaine, Lughnasa and Samhain mark significant moments in the agricultural calendar. Food traditions, customs and practices relating to these days are recorded in the abundant resources of the collections in the Folklore Department, University College Dublin. However, to date, with few exceptions, little food specific research has been carried out on these collections. This thesis aims to begin to fill that gap whilst highlighting many opportunities for further research. Throughout this process we witness the illumination of a rich food …

Ethnography Of Reading Comic Books, Azadeh Najafian

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis explores why adults read comic books. This research used the ethnographic method and interviewing eleven people, four women, seven male, as its primary source. Based on information and common themes gathered from interviews, I built this thesis into one introduction, three body chapters, and a conclusion.

In the first chapter, I argued that comics could function the same as myths and explained this function and related examples under the “mythic effect” name. In the second chapter, I discussed how my informants use reading comics as a means to escape their everyday lives and how sometimes this escapism carries …

La Llorona, Picante Pero Sabroso: The Mexican Horror Legend As A Story Of Survival And A Reclamation Of The Monster, Camille Maria Acosta

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

For centuries, the relationship between Mexico and its infatuation with scary stories has been profoundly complex, but why? Perhaps it is the easiest way to communicate a Mexican culture, although proud and resilient, riddled with haunting narratives. For myself personally, the Mexican horror narrative La Llorona has served as a lens for conversation and communication that is unique and important.

In this thesis, I explore how Mexicans and Mexican Americans alike use the legend of La Llorona as a unique form of communication through personifying what truly haunts us. From using the narrative as a tool for entertainment, cautionary tales, …

From The Tree Of Knowledge And The Golem Of Prague To Kosher Autonomous Cars: The Ethics Of Artificial Intelligence Through Jewish Eyes, Nachshon Goltz, John Zeleznikow, Tracey Dowdeswell

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This article discusses the regulation of artificial intelligence from a Jewish perspective, with an emphasis on the regulation of machine learning and its application to autonomous vehicles and machine learning. Through the Biblical story of Adam and Eve as well as Golem legends from Jewish folklore, we derive several basic principles that underlie a Jewish perspective on the moral and legal personhood of robots and other artificially intelligent agents. We argue that religious ethics in general, and Jewish ethics in particular, show us that the dangers of granting moral personhood to robots and in particular to autonomous vehicles lie not …

Ferrell, Ann Katherine, B. 1972 (Fa 1381), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1381. Interview conducted on 11 December 2019 by Ann Ferrell with Michael Ann Williams, who discusses her education and academic career as a folklorist and vernacular architecture historian. From 1987-2018, Williams was a faculty member in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at Western Kentucky University.

Documenting Tradition: Images From The Kentucky Folklife Program Archives (Fa 777), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 777. Photographs and captions used for a 2013 exhibit at the Kentucky Museum, Western Kentucky University, titled "Documenting Tradition: Images from the Kentucky Folklife Program Archives" featuring images form the KFP Archives that were transferred to WKU in 2013.

Mccartt-Jackson, Sarah, B. 1982 (Fa 1290), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1290. Student collection titled “’Clogging’s Just Clogging’: The Richard McHargue Cloggers and Approaches to Vernacular Percussive Dance Study” in which Sarah McCartt-Jackson conducts an interview with Richard McHargue, a clogging instructor from Richmond, Kentucky. The interview contains McHargue’s early dancing memories, clogging terms, and opinions about the contemporary state of clogging. The collection also contains a partial transcript, fieldnotes, interview questions, content index, photographs, and the recorded audio interview on CD.

Brennan, Mary Kate (Fa 1284), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1284. Student interview conducted by Mary Kate Brennan with renowned Appalachian poet Jim Wayne Miller. Brennan’s focus throughout the interview is on “the cultural sensitivity and awareness that permeates Miller’s poetry.” Miller also touches on what he considers to be the central themes of his work, the struggles and triumphs of communities within the Appalachian region, and pride in cultural heritage. The collection contains a detailed index, interview summary, transcription, index cards with questions, and a reel-to-reel audio tape of the interview.

Future Of Appalachian Culture, Emily Hilliard, Travis Stimeling, Michael Kline, Carrie Kline, Trevor Mckenzie, Nancy Abrams, Torey Siebart, Chris Haddox, Mehmet Oztan, West Virginia University Press

Exhibit Panels

Appalachia is often associated with its traditional arts and culture, but that does not mean that we are stuck in the past. Local traditions often play a crucial role in galvanizing forward-thinking cultural institutions, involving artists and workers alike in making new futures that are still distinctively Appalachian. This section of the exhibit highlights this kind of work from the West Virginia Humanities Council, Arthurdale Heritage, and more, connecting to a traditional past to new traditions yet to be forged.

Bastin, Glen (Fa 1241), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1241. Collection of 38 cassette tapes featuring Glen Bastin's regional public affairs syndicated radio program, "Pondering Kentucky: The Magazine." A contents list was prepared and appears at the end of this finding aid.

Ohio River Survey (Fa 656), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 656. Kentucky Folklife Program project titled: “Ohio River Survey,” which includes interviews, tape logs, photographs and other documentation of folklife along the Ohio River in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. Interviews may include a description of belief, traditional occupation, practice, craft, or tool, informant’s name, age, birth date, and address.

Among The Palms1, Lee Haring

Publications and Research

Born out of the convergence of intellectual traditions and owning a borrowing capacity analogous to the one that engenders creole languages, the study of folklore, or folkloristics, claims the right to adapt and remodel political, psychological, and anthropological insights, not only for itself but for the humanities disciplines of philosophy, art, literature, and music (the “PALM” disciplines). Performance-based folkloristics looks like a new blend, or network, of elements from several of those. What looks like poaching, which is a common practice for folksong and folk narrative, can be examined in the PALM disciplines under names like intertextuality and plagiarism. Nation-oriented …

Clarke, Kenneth Wendell, B. 1917 (Mss 635), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 635. Manuscripts, notes, publisher’s correspondence, and photographs relating to the scholarly work of WKU English and folklore professor Kenneth W. Clarke, principally "Bud Long: The Birth of a Kentucky Folk Legend" and "The Harvest and the Reapers."

On Being Trans: Narrative, Identity, Performance, And Community, Chloe Jo Brown

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis focuses on various topics related to transgender identity and culture. Through a combination of ethnographic and secondary research, I studied transgender coming out narratives, trans media representation, transgender performance and identity, and conceptualizations of group and chosen family in a community of trans students, the WKU Transgender and Non-Binary Student Group.

The three chapters of my thesis address some of the traditional milestones of a trans person’s acculturation: coming out, constructing one’s newly discovered trans identity, and finding community. Chapter 1 explores coming out as transgender, and the way in in which coming out is valued and discussed …

Monstrous Maternity: Folkloric Expressions Of The Feminine In Images Of The Ubume, Michaela Leah Prostak

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ubume is a ghost of Japanese folklore, once a living woman, who died during either pregnancy or childbirth. This thesis explores how the religious and secular developments of the ubume and related figures create a dichotomy of ideologies that both condemn and liberate women in their roles as mothers. Examples of literary and visual narratives of the ubume as well as the religious practices that were employed for maternity-related concerns are explored within their historical contexts in order to best understand what meaning they held for people at a given time and if that meaning has changed. These meanings …

Bodylore And Dress, Amy K. Milligan

Women's & Gender Studies Faculty Publications

Bodylore includes the ways in which the body is used as a canvas for inherited and chosen identity. Bodylore considers the symbolic inventory of dress and hair, addressing a range of identities from conservative religious groups like the Amish and the Hasidim to edgy goth and punk devotees. The body is scripted in portrayals of race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, and politics, including such topics as tattoos, piercing, scarification, hair covering and styling, traditional and folk dress, fashion, and body modification. The central bodylore questions are whether individuals choose consciously or subconsciously to engage with their performative body, as well …

Finding Teaching Inspiration At The Swenson Center, Dr. Kimberly La Palm

Swenson Center Faculty Research Stipend Reports

I spent a week working with the Swenson Center's collections. My original goal was to find material that I could use in my course on Scandinavian Folklore but I found much more material than I realized I would and now I have a list of ideas and inspiration for nearly all of the courses in the catalogue.

Winchel, Beulah Rhea, 1912-2015 (Mss 609), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 609. Correspondence, photographs, travel materials, genealogy, and other personal papers of Beulah R. Winchel, a Breckinridge County, Kentucky, native and a teacher and librarian who served in Japan, Germany and France with the U.S. Army Special Services and the Department of Defense Dependents Schools.

Beatty, Beverly D. (Fa 884), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 884. Paper titled: “Jewish Folklore.” Project includes survey sheets and note cards with brief descriptions of various religious and superstitious beliefs. Survey sheets and note cards include a brief description of each belief or saying and informant’s name.

Costellow, Ann Tapp (Fa 873), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 873. Paper titled: “Quilt Patterns.” Project includes survey sheets with brief descriptions of various quilts. Sheets include a brief description including quilt pattern, informant’s name, and photo or

illustration of quilt.

Maine Folklife, Vol. 21, Iss. 1, Maine Folklife Center

Maine Folklife Center Newsletter

The University of Maine celebrated its 150th anniversary as Maine's Land Grant Institution throughout 2015. The Folk and Tradition Arts area reflected the University of Maine's special milestone with programming provided by students, faculty and staff from several departments on campus.

“Persuading The Secret”: In Search Of Maine’S Hermits, Taylor Cunningham

Honors College

I have been working on this project for nearly three years now. The journey feels like a long one—with various roads, some yet to be traveled, detours, and dead ends. Largely, it has been a process of trial and error, as I learned to navigate the boundless, at times overwhelming, depths of research—within archives, old newspapers, photographs, poems, fiction, informal conversations and formal interviews—hoping to make some sense of what hermit characters mean to the state of Maine.

I found almost immediately that inconsistencies and gaps plagued—as I’m sure they do in any sort of oral history project—my attempts at …

The Vibrant Traditions Of Masaya: El Mestizaje As A Culture, A Process, And A State Of Being, Isabelle Lee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“The only constant in life is change.” What this old adage leaves out is that the processes that catalyze these changes can occur in vastly different ways which impact the product. In the case of the history of Masaya, Nicaragua, today’s dominant culture of mestizaje is the result of the arrival of the Spaniards to the Americas and the process of racial and cultural blend that followed between Spanish, indigenous and African peoples. But in this mixing process, Spaniards held disproportionate power: most of the changes they imposed were made through violent and deceptive imposition. Yet indigenous and African people …

Maine Folklife, Vol. 20, Iss. 2, Maine Folklife Center

Maine Folklife Center Newsletter

The Penobscot Dictionary Project is well underway. It is a project that brings together Native culture, linguistics and digital humanities. On the one hand, we are engaged in on-going discussions with members of the Penobscot Language committee on Indian Island to make sure that our work helps their work in teaching and sustaining their language program. On the other hand, we are building a digital file with all of the linguistic information that we can incorporate into the dictonary. Working with a part of the dictionary that was digitally entered onto 5 1/4 inch floppy disks in the 1980s, the …