Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology News

WKU Folk Studies has just returned from another successful and productive Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society! This year's meeting was in Buffalo, New York. Faculty, current students, and alumni presented papers, served on forums, participated in leadership meetings and AFS section meetings, caught up with colleagues, and had a good time. We are thankful for funding support from the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology, the WKU Graduate School, the WKU Office of Research and Creative Activities, and contributions made to the Folk Studies foundation fund by alumni, faculty, and friends.

Our faculty and staff participated in the following panel sessions:

Brent Björkman, Towards Best Practices and Evaluative Tools in Public Folklore: Various Perspectives

Tim Evans and Virginia Siegel, No Illusions: Inclusive Curriculum Development and When the Perfect Plan Goes Wrong (along with alumni Rebecca Smith, Nic Hartmann, and Lacey Cornell)

Tim Frandy, Folklore and Enlightenment in America: A Conversation with Bill Ivey

Tim Frandy (discussant), Catalogue, Correspondence, and Communications as Conduits: The Circuitry of Rural News

Faculty paper presentations:

Ann K. Ferrell, Which Side Are You On?: The Occupational and Organizational Folklore Controversy in Retrospect

Tim Frandy, Between the Forest and the Freezer: Visual Culture and Hunting Weapons in the Upper Midwest

Kate Parker Horigan, The Exceptional Refugee: Exclusion or Advocacy?

Current student paper presentations:

Joel Reid Gillis Chapman, Teachers in Action, Out of Action: Narratives of Educators and Activism

Delainey Bowers, Big Bad Wrassler: Community and Occupational Folklore in Independent Wrestling Promotions

Eleanor Miller, The Controversy over Bears Ears National Monument: Native Claims, Land Use, and the Potential Role of Folklorists in Shaping the Debate

May graduates presenting their research while in our program:

Chloe Brown, “It’s like a Little Family of Trans Kids”: Community and Chosen Family in WKU’s Transgender and Non-binary Student Group

Nicole Musgrave, Pillbilly: Available Narratives and Representations of Appalachia in the Opioid Crisis

Anne Rappaport, Beer Goggles in the Field: Who is Overlooked in the Craft Beverage Revival? (forum)

In addition to sessions:

Kate Parker Horigan was featured in a book signing with new authors of the University Press of Mississippi with her book Consuming Katrina: Public Disaster and Personal Narrative. 

Ann K. Ferrell, with other directors of university folklore programs, met with the AFS Executive Board to discuss opportunities and challenges.

Current students also received travel awards to attend the annual meeting:

Delainey Bowers, Archie Green Student Travel Award (Public Programs Section of the AFS)

Maria Lewis, Gerald L. Davis Fund Travel Grants (AFS)

Chloe Brown (May graduate), Polly Stewart Student Travel Stipend (Women’s Section of the AFS)