Digital Commons Network^™

Queering Kinship In ‘The Maiden Who Seeks Her Brothers', Jeana Jorgensen

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The fairy tales in the Kinder- und Hausmiirchen, or Children's and Household Tales, compiled by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are among the world's most popular, yet they have also provoked discussion and debate regarding their authenticity, violent imagery, and restrictive gender roles. In this chapter I interpret the three versions published by the Grimm brothers of ATU 451, "The Maiden Who Seeks Her Brothers," focusing on constructions of family, femininity, and identity. I utilize the folkloristic methodology of allomotific analysis, integrating feminist and queer theories of kinship and gender roles. I follow Pauline Greenhill by taking a queer view of …

The Digital Folklore Project: Tracking The Oral Tradition On The World Wide Web., Jasen Bacon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I collected forty-two e-mail forwards over the course of four months, and from those I formulated a framework that adapts existing theory in collection and study of real-world folklore to the emerging folk communities that exist on the internet. Through this analysis I prove that the same genres of folklore that is routinely collected by folklorists have been adapted to fit the digital environment of the internet. I then use the framework that I lay out to perform a study of the e-mails themselves.

Ball, Donald B. (Fa 571), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Collection 571. Symposium paper (1) and articles (9) published in "Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology," written or co-written by Donald B. Ball, concerning grave houses, vernacular architecture and stone construction.

The Transformation Of A Shire: Local Negotiation In The Society For Creative Anachronism, Suzanne Barber

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this thesis, I am examining how a small branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Loch an Fhraoich, whose values and identity center around camaraderie and narrative and aesthetic coherence, attempts to balance these two often contradictory principles. To better illustrate the negotiations taking place, I have used ethnographic fieldwork to focus on the areas of material culture, ethno-kinetics, persona, knowledge, and events. These areas are tightly interwoven, and almost never operate independently, but the exercise of isolating them is useful in seeing the complexities of choices that members must make to navigate the social world of the Society …

Experiencing Samoa Through Stories: Myths And Legends Of A People And Place, Samantha Lichtenberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research will explore oral tradition, indigenous beliefs prior to Christianity, and the significance of place through the study of Samoan myths and legends. The researcher will investigate the tradition of storytelling by hearing the stories from Samoan elders themselves. These stories will be supplemented with details from secondary written resources in order to compile comprehensive versions of the myths and legends. The research will consider the affect that Christianity has on the meaning of the stories and examine whether traces of indigenous belief/religion are preserved today through storytelling and the remembrance of myths. The researcher will spend a significant …

By The Pricking Of My Thumbs, Something Wicked This Way Comes: Omani Perceptions Of The Supernatural, Jennifer L. Borger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As a student who came to Oman knowing very little about the Arab world or Islam, I can safely say that my knowledge has increased tenfold. Upon entrance to the country in January 2011, I had no idea what my independent research study would end up addressing. Upon first hearing of the concept of the evil eye and all it relates to, my interest peaked. I began to think that this topic was interesting enough to command a month’s attention from me. This all changed during a weekend trip to Salalah, in the south of Oman, which included a lecture …

Threlkeld, Matthew Kohl, B. 1985 (Fa 538), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text (click on "Additional File" below) for Folklife Archives Project 538. Matthew Kohl Threlkeld records an urban legend told by Daniel Houghton about running a marijuana operation from a fast food restaurant. This project was a requirement for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University.

Nationalism And Its Expression In Cuba’S Art Music: The Use Of Folklore In Mario Abril’S “Fantasia (Introduction And Pachanga)” For Clarinet And Piano, Nikolasa Tejero

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In the centuries since the colonization of the New World, the people of Cuba created a strong musical tradition. Initially, their music mirrored the European composition canons of structural, melodic and harmonic order. The eventual confluence of its distinct cultural elements (i.e. the European, African, and, to a lesser extent, Amerindian) led to the emergence of a new, distinctly Cuban musical tradition.

The wars for independence that began in the United States and Europe in the eighteenth century created a surge towards political and cultural autonomy that swept across the Latin American colonies, generating a wave of nationalism during the …

Documenting The Oral Narratives Of Transient Punks, Thomas Ross Heffernan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The uninitiated do not realize the complexity of the punk rock sub-culture. Outsiders may find it hard to distinguish the subtle lines by which differentiation occurs within the so-called subculture. The "punk rock subculture" is a misnomer; it is not a salient community. The experience of being "punk" is fractal; what it means to be punk and what classifies one as punk is in constant redefinition and there are various different communities with varying ideologies and identities. The punk subculture has absorbed various epistemologies in its 40+ years of existence, modified them, and made them their own. Within this milieu …

Human Things: Rethinking Guitars And Ethnography, Matthew L. Hale

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This work is about objects and their makers, their relationship, and the negotiation between tradition and innovation in the creation of things. I explore the relationship between tradition, innovation, and technology as it pertains to the creation, perception, and interaction with acoustic steel string guitars and ethnographies. First, I focus on the works of two Nashville based guitar makers, Grant and Cory Batson. I investigate the ways in which the Batsons critically evaluate traditional construction techniques and design features as they create their instruments, looking at their theories of tone production, methods of construction, and their perceptions and uses of …

Ordinary Spirits In An Extraordinary Town: Finding Identity In Personal Images And Resurrected Memories In Lily Dale, New York, Mary Catherine Gaydos Gabriel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Every summer, Lily Dale, New York, a community founded on spiritualist beliefs and steeped in an eccentric explosive past, hosts thousands of visitors seeking to communicate with dead friends and relatives, while the residents lead ordinary lives in the midst of the supernatural hype permeating their town. Their stories are considered by most to be secondary to the illustrious trappings of the community in which they occurred. My research employs oral histories prompted by personal photographs to showcase the residents' everyday experiences amidst the town's infamy, illuminating the undervalued individual experience of those living in communities of such extraordinary repute. …

Update: Indian Head Rock Returned To Kentucky, Wsaz (Tv)

Indian Head Rock Project

A series of articles by WSAZ television on the removal and return of the Indian Head Rock.

The Folklife Archives At Western Kentucky University: Past And Present, David Puglia

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This work focuses on Western Kentucky University’s Folklife Archives located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Western Kentucky University has a rich history of folklore scholarship, dating back to at least the early 20th century and the work of Gordon Wilson. Folklore archives across the nation have long been repositories for the fieldwork of folklorists and a place to look to supplement future studies both of folklorists and other disciplines. Western Kentucky’s Folklife Archives are no exception, housing thousands of impressive pieces donated from many generations of folklore scholars. Yet very little has been written about the Western Kentucky Folklife Archives. Through …

The Blood Drive Of Wku Greek Week: Issues Of Altruism, Egoism, Integration And Separation, Cynthia Halcyone Cotton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis focuses on the Blood Drive which takes place during the spring Greek Week event at Western Kentucky University. I primarily investigate the varying methods of negotiating issues of altruism and egoism in terms of the Blood Drive as well as way that the Blood Drive fits into the WKU Greek yearly cycle. I focus on issues of the process of identity in social Greek-letter organizations and how the process of this identity is renegotiated during the Blood Drive and other Greek events.

I interviewed people from several groups for this paper. Initially, I interviewed Blood Donor Recruitment Representatives …

Parel-Sewell, Amethel (Fa 280), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 280. Paper: "Genres of Children's Folklore Found in Advertisements of Three Popular Magazines..." written by Amethel Parel-Sewell for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

A New Home For The Rock?, Benita Heath

Indian Head Rock Project

Article published in the Ironton Tribune on the return of the Indian Head Rock to Kentucky from April 25, 2010.

Japanese Demon Lore, Noriko T. Reider

All USU Press Publications

Oni, ubiquitous supernatural figures in Japanese literature, lore, art, and religion, usually appear as demons or ogres. Characteristically threatening, monstrous creatures with ugly features and fearful habits, including cannibalism, they also can be harbingers of prosperity, beautiful and sexual, and especially in modern contexts, even cute and lovable. There has been much ambiguity in their character and identity over their long history. Usually male, their female manifestations convey distinctivly gendered social and cultural meanings.

Oni appear frequently in various arts and media, from Noh theater and picture scrolls to modern fiction and political propaganda, They remain common figures in popular …

Fairy Tale Films, Pauline Greenhill, Sidney Eve Matrix

All USU Press Publications

In this, the first collection of essays to address the development of fairy tale film as a genre, Pauline Greenhill and Sidney Eve Matrix stress, "the mirror of fairy-tale film reflects not so much what its audience members actually are but how they see themselves and their potential to develop (or, likewise, to regress)." As Jack Zipes says further in the foreword, “Folk and fairy tales pervade our lives constantly through television soap operas and commercials, in comic books and cartoons, in school plays and storytelling performances, in our superstitions and prayers for miracles, and in our dreams and daydreams. …

Spears, Angela (Fa 344), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 344. Paper: "Folklore and Media Project on Folklore in Advertisements," written by Angela Spears for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Kentucky Wants Case Against Shaffer Dropped, Benita Heath

Indian Head Rock Project

Article published in the Ironton Tribune on the charges against Steve Shaffer related to the removal of the Indian Head Rock from July 25, 2009.

Sides Over Rock Dispute Ready For August Trial, Benita Heath

Indian Head Rock Project

An article published in the Ironton Tribune on the dispute over the Indian Head Rock from July 22, 2009.

Bush, Brendan David (Fa 175), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 175. Paper: "Millennium Virus," written by Brendan David Bush for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. The Washington Post and the New York Times are referenced.

Jennings, Alex (Fa 181), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 181. "Folklore in the Photos of 'The College Heights Herald,'" a paper written by Alex Jennings for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. Photographs from "College Heights Herald," Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, referenced.

Collins, Ellen (Fa 176), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 176. Paper: "Finding Folklore in Magazine Ads," written by Ellen Collins for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. "Parents Magazine" photographs referenced.

Mains, Brian (Fa 182), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 182. "Folklore and the Media -- Study: 'Park City Daily News.'" Paper written by Brian Mains for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. "Park City Daily News," Bowling Green, Kentucky, referenced.

Good, Epha (Fa 392), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 392. Paper: "Coverage of the Fourth of July Celebration in the Belton Journal" written by Epha Good for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Davenport, Cyn (Fa 381), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 381. Paper: "'Seinfeld': Modern Channels for Folklore" written by Cyn Davenport for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Harbolt, Tami (Fa 394), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 394. Paper: "'I'm Not a Real Doctor, But I Play One on T.V...'": The Use of Folklore in Representations of Occupational Stereotypes in Television Advertising" written by Tami Harbolt for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Cary, Mik (Fa 375), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 375. Paper: "Local Traditions and Customs Spotlighted in the 'Park City Daily News'" written by Mik Cary for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Crack Down On Heritage Thieves - Legislature Has Chance To Put Public's Interest First, Reginald Meeks

Indian Head Rock Project

A commentary piece written by Kentucky State Representative Reginald Meeks in the Lexington Herald-Leader on the need for a preservation bill to protect State historic sites from poachers.