Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 26: Confessions Of A 'Wallace Enthusiast', Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

The author’s longstanding interest in the life and thought of Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) is profiled in three ways, through: (1) a brief factual review of its history (2) a discussion of some problems with the way Wallace has been treated over the years, and (3) a consideration of the author’s personal experience with the paranormal, and how this has made him, if not always a full believer, more patient with divergent explanations of the type Wallace was famous for.

A United, Not A Divider: Community, Identity, Performance & The Tomato Krewe Parading Group Of East Nashville's Tomato Art Festival, Allison Cate

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis is an ethnographic study of the “Tomato Krewe,” a social group that participates in the parade of East Nashville’s annual Tomato Art Festival. Drawing on participant-observation, interviews, and my own experiences as a member of the krewe and resident of East Nashville, I examine krewe members’ narratives about the festival, the material culture that they create for the parade, and the levels of performance that they engage in while parading. Central to my analysis is how krewe members understand the Tomato Art Festival as an expression of East Nashville identity.

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 21: Wallace & The Doorway To The Universe, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

An important yet largely unrecognized theme in the thought of Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) was his insistence that all dependably-reported phenomena, even those of aberrant nature, were worthy of a respectful kind of attention: that is, a kind which did not automatically banish difficult subjects to the realm of myth or superstition. In this work, Wallace’s philosophy in this direction is documented, and linked to the world of post-Age-of-Enlightenment revisionism.

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 13: Wallace On Prayer, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) is known to most for his natural history explorations and theoretical biology, but he also developed thoughts on a number of subjects relatable to a wider appreciation of evolutionary cosmology. His adoption of spiritualism, for one, was attuned to this mission, and in turn his otherwise difficult-to-interpret two-sided position on prayer.

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.

White, Linda C. (Fa 1275), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1275. Student folk studies project titled “The Bloodshed Legacy: Historical Legends of Civil War Guerilla Activity in Western Appalachia,” which includes descriptions of historic folk legends in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee. Transcriptions of interviews on reel-to-reel tapes may include description of the legend, date collected, and informant’s name and address.

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.

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 …

Beliefs And Practices Related To Community Water Sources: "The Specialness Of Springs", Anita Kay Westhues

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The practice of gathering water from community springs in Kentucky constitutes a rich and complex research setting for the study of folklore beliefs and practices. Local knowledge construction, nostalgia as an evaluative process, contested views about purity and impurity, the protection and retention of a “public commons,” and the crisis which ensues when infrastructure maintenance and the delivery of safe drinking water are no longer guaranteed to communities, are all relevant to this vernacular practice. My thesis explores these topics, informed by fieldwork I conducted in nine Kentucky counties, which included formal and informal interviews with individuals who have used …

Inexhaustible Magic: Folklore As World Building In Harry Potter, Samantha G. Castleman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The practice of secondary world building, the creation of a fantasy realm with its own unique laws and systems has long been a tradition within the genre of fantasy writing. In many notable cases, such as those publications by J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft, folklore exhibited in the world of the reader has been specifically used not only to construct these fantasy realms, but to add depth and believability to their presentation. The universe of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series demonstrates this same practice of folklore-as-world-building, yet her construction does much more than just create a fantasy realm. By using …

The Healing Power Of Music And Chants Amongst The Ahl-E Haqq People, Azadeh Vatanpour

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis examines current practices of music and prayers in the context of Jam ritual among the Ahl-e Haqq, a vernacular religion group in Iranian Kurdistan. I examine the construction and sacralization of the sacred instrument of the Ahl-e Haqq, tanbūr. I also explore the sacred prayer, kalām, and the association of prayer and music. Through the ethnographic method, participant observations, and interviewing religious figures and master musicians during the fieldwork in Sahneh, Iran, I investigate the relation of the Ahl-e Haqq prayers and music, and their effect on healing during their sacred ritual performance. Drawing primarily on scholarship from …

Nightmares In The Kitchen: Personal Experience Narratives About Cooking And Food, Sarah T. Shultz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis explores personal experience narratives about making mistakes in the preparation and serving of food. In order to understand when these narratives, referred to in the text as “kitchen nightmares,” are told, to whom, in what form, and why, one-onone and group ethnographic interviews were conducted. In total, 13 interviews were conducted with 25 individuals (men and women) ranging in age from 19 to 70. Six major themes of kitchen nightmare narratives are identified in Chapter One. Chapter Two explores one of these themes, resistance, in the context of the kitchen nightmare stories of heterosexual married women. Chapter Three …

The Past Is Open To The Future: Lithuanian Folk Pottery 1861 - Present, Anthony E. Stellaccio

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In 2011, following several years of in-country research, I published a book on Lithuanian folk pottery. I enrolled in the Folk Studies master’s program at Western Kentucky University (WKU) in 2014, well after my research and book had been completed. In the present study, I use my newly acquired knowledge of folklore In my previous work to revisit Lithuanian folk pottery.

In my previous work, I had sought to create a picture of “authentic” Lithuanian folk pottery that was confined to the narrow temporal borders of 1861-1918. Here I deconstruct conventional ideas about authenticity, as well as culture and heritage, …

Performing Gender Through Bowling, Or, "I Was In Shock Other Girls Could Bowl", Eleanor Ann Hasken

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this thesis, I explore how bowling frames a gendered understanding of the world. I examine style, ball weight, and relationships, and others areas to discuss the ramifications of a binary understanding of gender as it is conceived in bowling centers. To complete this examination, I use interviews and personal observations from a year of fieldwork in Louisville and Bowling Green, Kentucky. I also rely on my personal experiences with the sport to provide contextual information. Drawing primarily on scholarship from Judith Butler, Richard Bauman, and Ann K. Ferrell, I theorize about gendered performances occurring in the bowling center. These …

Keeping The Magic: Fursona Identity And Performance In The Furry Fandom, Jakob W. Maase

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The furry subculture (also known as the anthropomorphic fandom) creates identity through anthropomorphism and therianthropy. Anthropomorphism is the giving of human traits to the non-human. Therianthropy is the giving of animal traits to the human. Through play and creating art, these individuals of the furry subculture take on an anthropomorphic identity (what furries call a fursona) while bridging local and global groups through communication technologies. For this folklore project I conducted ethnographic field works interviews with the Bowling Green, Kentucky fur group. I also build off of the interviews project with an online furry role-play group as well as a …

Our Master’S Legacy: Belief And Ritual In Mission De L’Esprit Saint, Dale Joseph Rose

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis is a folkloristic examination of the religious beliefs and rituals associated with members of a religious movement known as Mission De L’Ésprit Saint. Mission De L’Ésprit Saint is a Quebecois religious denomination which believes that their founder was the physical incarnation of the Holy Spirit, and the movement strives to continue the teachings which were laid down during his lifetime. The major components of Mission theology and history, as well as an introductory consideration of their cosmology and worldview will be the major focus of this document, as well as a consideration of the role that Folklore has …

Traditional Cultural Properties And Casita Rincón Criollo, Virginia Denise Siegel

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

According to the 1990 bulletin issued by the National Park Service, traditional cultural properties (TCPs) derive their significance from cultural practices or beliefs of living communities. This thesis centers on a case study of the nomination of Casita Rincón Criollo to the National Register of Historic Places as a TCP. The nomination is a collaborative project of Place Matters in New York City and Western Kentucky University, initiated by the American Folklore Society Working Group in Folklore and Historic Preservation Policy. Casita Rincón Criollo has several issues that make nomination to the National Register tricky. Casitas are small “houses,” typically …

Ua68/14/3 Potter College Of Arts & Letters Folk Studies & Anthropology Student Organizations, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by student organizations associated with Folk Studies & Anthropology.

Ua68/14/1 Potter College Of Arts & Letters Folk Studies & Anthropology Publications, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Publications created by and about Folk Studies & Anthropology.

Ua68/14/2 Potter College Of Arts & Letters Folk Studies & Anthropology Administration, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and during the administration of the Folk Studies and Anthropology Department.

A Rejuvenating Resort Remembered: The Use Of Folklore And Archaeology In The Investigation Of The Historic Massey Springs Resort In South-Central Kentucky, Renee Pinkston

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Using only one line of evidence for a study of historic sites can be problematic if it does not provide a complete picture of the material culture or lifeways of a people, group, or community. In order to understand the ideas and objects, of culture present at historic sites, it is necessary to use archaeological methodologies with vernacular architecture studies and folklore to create a more holistic image of the world and its inhabitants. To facilitate this, I conducted original research on a mineral spring resort, Massey Springs Resort (Massey Springs) in Warren County, Kentucky, a popular resort in the …

Report On My Fall 2013 Sabbatical Leave, Haiwang Yuan

DLPS Faculty Publications

Haiwang Yuan, Professor of Department of Library Public Services of WKU, received his 2012-2013 Research & Creative Activities Program (RCAP) grant from WKU Research Office and a book contract from a U.S. publisher ABC-CLIO to write a book on Tibetan folktales. He then applied for and was awarded the fall 2013 sabbatical leave. With the grant and the leave, he made his research field trip to Tibet and some other Tibetan communities in China. This is the report he has given to his dean and WKU Academic Affairs Office as required. He has now submitted the manuscripts of his book.

Cutting A Thousandsticks Of Tobacco Makes A Boy A Man: Traditionalized Performances Of Masculinity In Occupational Contexts, Ann Ferrell, Pauline Greenhill, Editor, Diane Tye, Editor

Folk Studies & Anthropology Faculty Book Gallery

In Unsettling Assumptions, editors Pauline Greenhill and Diane Tye examine how tradition and gender come together to unsettle assumptions about culture and its study.

Contributors explore the intersections of traditional expressive culture and sex/gender systems to question, investigate, or upset concepts like family, ethics, and authenticity. Individual essays consider myriad topics such as Thanksgiving turkeys, rockabilly and bar fights, Chinese tales of female ghosts, selkie stories, a noisy Mennonite New Year's celebration, the Distaff Gospels, Kentucky tobacco farmers, international adoptions, and more.

In Unsettling Assumptions, folkloric forms express but also counteract negative aspects of culture like misogyny, homophobia, …

Ua68/1/2 Potter College Of Arts & Letters Dean, Assistant Deans, Committees Events, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by the Potter College of Arts & Letters Dean's Office regarding events, performances, series, conferences, and lectures sponsored or produced by Potter College for faculty, staff, students and general public.

Includes records related to the Cultural Enhancement Committee, Fine Arts Festival, Faculty Lecture Series, Visual & Performing Arts and Kentucky Heritage Project.

Hawkins, Hope Brianne (Fa 760), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 760. Paper titled “Flowers, Knick-Knacks, and Patriotism: Assemblage Patterns in Rural Baptist Cemeteries of South Central Kentucky” written by Hope BriAnne Hawkins for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Paper includes information about memorial decorations and grave décor in south central Kentucky. Includes illustrations.

Shakers - South Union, Kentucky - Slaughtering Of Animals (Sc 1113), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1113. Document comprising the timeline of hog and cattle slaughtering by members of the Shaker Society at South Union, Logan County, Kentucky from 1 December 1814 to 16 December 1891, compiled from Shaker journals and other original sources. Entries often indicate the number of animals butchered, their weight, and the purpose of the butchering.

Ethnicity: Contemporary Ethnicity In The Inner Bluegrass (Fa 601), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Foklife Arhives Project 601. Collection of materials related to Ethnicity, a project documenting ethnic heritage in the inner Bluegrass, sponsored by The Living Arts and Science Center, the Kentucky Folklife Program of the Kentucky Historical Society, and the Lexington Public Library. This collection includes audio and written transcripts of those interviews. Also included are various administrative and program related papers.

Burley: Kentucky Tobacco In A New Century, Ann Ferrell

Folk Studies & Anthropology Faculty Book Gallery

Once iconic American symbols, tobacco farms are gradually disappearing. It is difficult for many people to lament the loss of a crop that has come to symbolize addiction, disease, and corporate deception; yet, in Kentucky, the plant has played an important role in economic development and prosperity. Burley tobacco—a light, air-cured variety used in cigarette production—has long been the Commonwealth’s largest cash crop and an important aspect of regional identity, along with bourbon, bluegrass music, and Thoroughbred horses. In Burley: Kentucky Tobacco in a New Century, Ann K. Ferrell investigates the rapidly transforming process of raising and selling tobacco …

Bolick, Molly (Fa 579), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 579. Illustrated paper by Molly Bolick titled “Embodied Art: Identity, Adornment, and Style in Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby.” Analysis of the artistic process of choosing a derby name and the assemblage of dress elements and adornment in the context of the body as a canvas. This project was submitted for the 2011Folklife Archives Award competition at Western Kentucky University.

Bemis, Alfred Hall, 1883-1956 (Sc 527), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 527. Photocopies of manuscript entitled “Destiny,” which concerns Alfred Hall Bemis’ five years of residency in Pulaski County, Kentucky, and a brochure used by Bemis to advertise his lecture on the life, philosophy and background of the hill people of Kentucky.