Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

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 …

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 …

Ua68/14/2 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.

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.

Ua3/2/1 President's Office-Garrett Correspondence/Subject File, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

General correspondence and subject files regarding Western Kentucky University.

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 …

Neither (Fully) Here Nor There: Negotiation Narratives Of Nashville's Kurdish Youth, Stephen Ross Goddard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Nashville, Tennessee, is home to nearly fifteen thousand ethnic Kurds. They have come in four distinct groups over the course of two decades to escape the hardship and horror of brutal central government policies, some directed toward their extinction. Many of that number are young people who were infants or toddlers when they were whisked away to the safety of temporary way stations prior to their arrival in the United States. What that means is that these youth have spent the majority of their formative years within the context of the American culture. This thesis is a study of how …

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

Folklife Archives 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

Manuscript Collection 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

Folklife Archives 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.

Ua12/2/7 Student Affairs - Panhellenic Council, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the Panhellenic Council.

Ua12/5 Housing & Residence Life, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Housing & Residence Life and programs.

Ua3/9/4 President's Office-Ransdell Installation File, Wku Archives, Virginia Brothers

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created and received by the President’s Office in preparation of Gary Ransdell’s installation as president.

Ua12/2/30 Poster, Wku Saudi Student Club

Student Organizations

Poster advertising Saudi National Day sponsored by the WKU Saudi Student Club.

Mccartt-Jackson, Sarah (Fa 577), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Folklife Archives Project 577. Paper by Sarah McCartt-Jackson titled “The Invasion of the Scarecrows and Community Aesthetic Perspective.” Describes an annual event called Invasion of the Scarecrows designed to promote downtown shopping in Scottsville, Kentucky. This project won the 2011Folklife Archives Award competition at Western Kentucky University.

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

Folklife Archives 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

Manuscript Collection 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.

Passing The Salt: How Eating Together Creates Community, Rebecca Katz

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Sharing a meal is a simple, yet sacred occasion. It is a universal act that is important to building relationships within people groups. Intentionally eating together creates time and space to engage in the spiritual and intellectual levels that are unique to human beings. Sharing food cultivates community because the implications of the meal extend beyond the time of eating together. While there are other places people meet, gathering around a meal is the most accessible because if nothing else, everyone must eat. Through participant observation and personal interviews, this CE/T project explores four meals to determine how eating together …

Anderson, Linda Allen (Fa 77), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 77. “Stone Masons and Their Craft in the Bluegrass Area of Kentucky,” interpretive paper and interviews executed for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University in 1986. Collection includes photographs of stone cutting and stonework in the Bluegrass region.

Gipson, Kenneth Todd (Fa 80), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 80. “Occupational Folklore of Monument Makers.” Interviews with Carroll Monument Company employees regarding their occupation and related stories. Includes one summary and one transcript.

Morse, Rebecca D. (Fa 67), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 67. Thesis: “Tinsley Bottom Tennessee: An Historical Reconstruction Utilizing Oral Narrative Traditions” by Rebecca D. Morse in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts, Department of Folk and Intercultural Studies at Western Kentucky University.

Ua12/2/23 United Black Students, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the United Black Students organization.

Ua12/2/15 Campus Activities Board, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the Campus Activities Board.

Ua94/5/3 Student/Alumni Personal Papers Bowling Green Business University Charles Jeffries Papers, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Love letters written by Charles Jefferies to Wanda Adams. Also contains letters and pledge notes for Pi Tau Nu.

Ua94/5/5 Student / Alumni Personal Papers Bowling Green Business University Rex Toothman, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Scrapbooks and correspondence created by Rex Toothman during his time at Bowling Green Business University and while in the Navy.

Mcdaniel, Sue Lynn, B. 1959 (Sc 2461), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2461.  Interview conducted by Sue Lynn McDaniel with Julius Rather on 14 June 2011 at his office in Lexington, Kentucky.  The interview topic was Rather's collection of political memorabilia which he began amassing in 1964 and the establishment of the Julius Rather Political Memorabilia Collection at Western Kentucky University.