Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

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, …

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.

Barnes, Mada (Fa 1317), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1317. Paper titled "Farming Lore" by Mada Barnes for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Barnes provides brief farming lore collected chiefly from farmers in the Monroe County, Kentucky area. Some categories include: Chickens and eggs, Cattle, Snakes, Hunting and fishing... Informant names are provided and sometimes an address.

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.

Tuell, Gwynne (Fa 1279), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1279. Student paper titled “Folktales and Sayings” in which Gwynne Tuell gathers together a small number of materials relating to popular beliefs, proverbs, and superstitions.

Kohlmeyer, Kandy (Fa 1278), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1278. Student paper titled “Texas Legends” in which Kandy Kohlmeyer gathers together two tales, one known as “The Legend of Armicosa Mission” and the other “The Legend of the Vision.” In her brief preface, Kohlmeyer explains that she collected the tales from a Mexican woman named Francis Garcia while Kohlmeyer was on vacation in Alice, Texas.

Harper, Laura (Fa 1277), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1277. Student paper titled “Beliefs, Planting and Weather Signs, and Place Names” in which Laura Harper gathers together a number of practices and ideas based on traditional folklore wisdom. Harper collected the information from family members and neighbors. The paper includes handwritten note cards arranged by theme.

Parker, Sandra (Fa 1269), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1269. Student paper titled “Dormitory Stories” in which Sandra Parker collects variants and subtypes of a popular urban legend regarding a student’s death on Western Kentucky University’s campus. Parker provides a brief historic background on the tale and addresses common motifs present in a majority of the narratives. Parker gathered stories from two other WKU students.

Williams, Pat (Fa 1270), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1270. Student paper titled “Jump Rope Rhymes” in which Pat Williams gathers together an assortment of grade-school rhymes and chants. Williams collected material from friends and family members, and the paper includes a brief biography of each informant.

George, John R. (Fa 1267), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1267. Student paper titled “Buried Alive” in which John George collects variants of a popular urban legend regarding a young woman who was buried alive with a valuable piece of jewelry, most often alarge diamond ring. George gathered stories from residents who lived in several counties throughout Kentucky.

Dailey, Jan (Fa 1268), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1268. Student paper titled “The Dorm Death: An Analysis of a Tale” in which Jan Dailey collects variants and subtypes of a popular urban legend regarding a student’s death on WKU’s campus. Dailey provides a brief historic background on the tale and addresses common motifs present in a majority of the narratives. Dailey gathered stories from multiple students living on WKU’s campus.

Watkins, Ronald (Fa 1266), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1266. Student paper titled “An Historic-Geographic Study of the ‘Face in the Wall’” in which Ronald Watkins attempts to locate the exact origins of a popular folktale. Ronald examines fifty variants of the same narrative and outlines traits found in each tale. The paper includes summaries of archetypes, characters, settings, and facial features of the apparition. Watkins gathered his stories from a volume title Indiana Folklore written by Ronald Baker in 1969.

Drake, Marilyn (Fa 1265), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1265. Student paper titled “A Historic-Geographic Study of Tale Type 990” in which Marilyn Drake attempts to locate the origins of a folktale about a woman buried with a ring on her finger. The paper examines subtypes, variants, and archetypes of the tale and includes motifs present in each narrative. Drake collected her folktales from informants in south central Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and England.

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.

Mccurry, Pam (Fa 1222), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1222. Student paper titled “Games and Toys” in which Pam McCurry examines various expressions of childhood material culture. McCurry interviewed close family and friends to gather information for her paper, which includes brief descriptions of each informant, and hand-drawn illustrations of assorted knick-knacks and trinkets.

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.

Upton, Pamela J. (Fa 1193), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1193. Student paper titled “Black and White Attitudes on a College Campus and Their Possible Relations to Folklore” in which Pamela Upton analyzes data from a survey to examine how feelings regarding race are expressed through folkloric beliefs and practices. Upton provides a copy of each type of questionnaire that was given to students and offers insight into the predominant and prevailing attitudes on WKU’s campus during the early 1970s.

Craig, Patricia (Fa 1183), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1183. Student paper titled “Folk Remedies” in which Patricia Craig gathers together traditional herbal remedies and folkloric practices as they relate to health and healing. Craig collected information from close relatives, friends, and other residents of Muhlenberg County.

Ivey, Janice (Fa 1144), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1144. Student paper titled “Folklore Study: Paul Bunyan,” in which Janice Ivey collects traditional oral narratives relating to famed folk icon Paul Bunyan. Ivey, who gathered stories from family members, also touches briefly on the claims of authenticity surrounding Paul Bunyan and his relationship to lumber camps in the early 20^th century.

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 …

Hay, William G. (Fa 951), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 951. Paper titled: “Hardin Springs.” Includes description, terms, beliefs, and photos of Hardin Springs and the watermill in Hardin County, Kentucky.

Montell, William Lynwood, 1931-2023 (Fa 949), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 949. Paper titled: “[Student Collections: Watermills]," WKU professor Lynwood Montell’s compilation of survey sheets from various collections by students with brief descriptions of watermills, farm implements, steam engines, etc. from the Knobs and Penny Royal Regions in Kentucky and Connecticut. Sheets may include a brief description, informant’s name, terms, a photo and/or illustration.

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.

Linder, Gary (Fa 953), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 953. Paper titled: “White Mills.” Project includes a description and photo of White Mills village and the watermill in Hardin County, Kentucky.

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.

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 …