Frank Korom
Boston University, Religion, Faculty Member
Research Interests: Folklore, Narrative, South Asian Studies, Orality-Literacy Studies, Painting, and 15 moreSocial Justice, Oral history, Oral Traditions, Bengali Literature, Social Justice and Multiculturalism in Counseling, South Asian Literature, Social Justice Issues, Equity and Social Justice in Higher Education, Bangladesh, Social Justice Education, Ballads, Social and Political Theories of Justice & Human Rights, Feminism and Social Justice, Bengali Language & Literature, and West Bengal
Research Interests: Folklore, Art History, Visual Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, Performance Studies, and 15 moreNarrative, Indian studies, Social and Cultural Anthropology, South Asian Studies, Performance Art, Oral Traditions, Performance, Bengali Literature, South Asian Literature, Cultural Anthropology, Bengali Language & Literature, Bengali, West Bengal, Folk songs, and Visual Anthropology and Sociology
The Patuas of West Bengal are a semi-itinerant caste of narrative scroll painters that have plied their trade for centuries. Over time, their repertoire has expanded to encompass a variety of new phenomena, including performances... more
The Patuas of West Bengal are a semi-itinerant caste of narrative scroll painters that have plied their trade for centuries. Over time, their repertoire has expanded to encompass a variety of new phenomena, including performances concerning natural disasters. This paper focuses specifically on one song about an infamous flood in Medinipur district that devastated the area in the 1970s, with the purpose of revealing how the Patuas themselves understand this tragic event as well as others like it. The conclusion suggests that they believe divine retribution is behind natural calamity.
Research Interests: Art History, Visual Anthropology, Visual Culture, Indian studies, Environmental Studies, and 15 moreSocial and Cultural Anthropology, South Asian Studies, South Asia, Oral history, Oral Traditions, Bengali Literature, Visual Arts, Animism, Narrative Art, India, Indian folk art and folklore, Anthropocene, West Bengal, Folkloristics, and Catastrophe Theory
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, Visual Sociology, Anthropology, Folklore, Visual Studies, and 22 moreArt History, Visual Anthropology, Narrative, Humor, Visual Culture, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Visual Narrative, Visual Semiotics, Visual perception, Oral Traditions, Visual Communication, History of Art, Bengali Literature, Narrative Analysis, Narrative Theory, Visual Arts, Humor Studies, Bengali Text to speech, Bengali Language & Literature, Mythology and communication, Bengali Theatre, and Feminism and Humor Studies
Research Interests: Folklore, Media and Cultural Studies, Globalization, Museum Studies, Material Culture Studies, and 27 moreComics Studies, Painting, Comics, Museums and Exhibition Design, Anthropology Of Consumption, Consumption and Material Culture, Comics and Graphic Novels, Commodification of traditional knowledge, Folk arts, Folklore (Anthropology), Museums, Film and Media Studies, Visual Narratives, Interactive Visual Narratives, Material Culture and Consumerism, Visual Antropology, Indian folk art and folklore, Cultural Globalization, Commodification of Culture, Museum and Heritage Studies, Commodification, Folk Art, Visual Narratives, Scroll Painting Traditions, Visual Anthropology, Material Culture & Materiality, Communication and media Studies, Consumption Culture, and Narrative Painting
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, Social Change, Folklore, Art History, Material Culture Studies, and 8 moreMaterial culture of religion, Bengali Literature, Consumption and Material Culture, Bengali Language & Literature, Visual Narratives, Scroll Painting Traditions, Visual Anthropology, Bengali Language and Literature, Folk Narrative, and Patachitra and Patuas of Bengal
This paper looks at the oral narratives sung by Bengali Patuas, a caste of formerly itinerant scroll painter bards in South Asia, that were composed in response to natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes to reflect upon their... more
This paper looks at the oral narratives sung by Bengali Patuas, a caste of formerly itinerant scroll painter bards in South Asia, that were composed in response to natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes to reflect upon their degree of political involvement and social activism on the local and trans-local level.