Folklore Program

This research illuminates adaptive and innovative interpretations of traditional music developed to maintain a voice in an ever-shifting and increasingly globalized society. Consideration has been given for methods which individuals utilize in navigating their sense of self through continuous negotiation with the larger community. There is an analysis and comparison of traditional and contemporary expressions of gender as it intersects with other identities such as Indigeneity and sexuality with consideration for cultural and historical contexts. In the endeavor to increase awareness regarding the dynamics of privilege and oppression challenges may arise in the process of orienting oneself in such a complex social matrix. Examining ways of personalizing these processes and experiences then expanding outward to the macro scale has great potential.

The practices of Miko, Ainu and Ryūkyūan traditions of Japan have changed dramatically over time. While the Miko tradition is to some degree aligned with the mainstream dominant culture, the Ainu and Ryūkyūan cultures tend to be under-represented and viewed as ‘other’ within Japanese society. Institutionally, Japan recognizes the Ainu as Indigenous people through a resolution passed in 2007. Tokyo-based Kyodo News published an article claiming that there had been discussion in August of 2017 of passing a law with a similar acknowledgment, however, no such measure has officially been announced. The Ryūkyūan people in Okinawa are often viewed as a sub-group in Japan, and therefore they are rarely framed as an Indigenous minority. There have, however, been movements such as that of activist Shinako Oyakawa who has petitioned the UN forum for the recognition of the rights of Ryūkyūan people as indigenous (Magee, 2018).

In exploring the role of women in the UNESCO-recognized singing practices of Europe, one would be remiss to omit the traditions of the Seto people. This paper provides an introduction to the role of women in Seto leelo and an analysis of the historical impact of this role within a socio-political matrix. Historically, village festivals and ritual observances gave women various opportunities to perform within their communities; in more contemporary times, however, women have expanded the scope of their performances into a larger public sphere. Our aim is to show how numerous factors may have influenced these traditions, and in some cases provided women with opportunities to venture beyond the boundaries set by traditional patriarchal family structures. This study begins with a brief explanation of Seto history and identity, followed by an overview of Seto leelo and its position within contemporary society. The final point of analysis examines the role of leelo as a women’s tradition.

Initially a Mad Max-themed car show, Wasteland Weekend has become a yearly gathering where wanderers of “The Wastes” convene for a week in the Mojave Desert to escape, barter, and celebrate their survival in a post-apocalyptic alternative realm. Individuals who attend, known as “Wastelanders,” share a fundamental concept of a post-apocalyptic world based on a popular culture film franchise, resulting in the creation of a subculture that champions survivalism through community and self-actualization. Through information gathered from fieldwork research and participant observation, this multi-disciplinary folkloric exploration draws upon the scholarship in the areas of subcultural formation, ritual and festival studies, the carnivalesque, bricolage, post-apocalypticism, and identity transformation. By exploring the personal motivations and communal attributes central to the Wastelander subculture, this thesis analyzes influences on cultural expression shaping the discussion surroundin...