DOCSLIB.ORG

The Ethnographer's Apprentice: Trying Consumer Culture Fron1. the Outside in John F

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Ethnographer's Apprentice: Trying Consumer Culture Fron1. the Outside in John F Journal of Business Ethics (2008) 80:85-95 © Springer 2007 DOl 10.1007/s10551-007-9448-7 The Ethnographer's Apprentice: Trying Consumer Culture fron1. the Outside In John F. Sherry, Jr. ABSTRACT. Anthropologists have long wrestled with professor of marketing and an industry consultant, I their impact upon the people they study. Historically, the advise students and clients how best to accommodate discipline has served and subverted colonial agendas, but and resist this culture. I believe that an ethical views itself traditionally as an advocate for the disem­ approach to marketplace behavior is possible and powered and as an instrument ofpublic policy. Marketing necessary, but my grasp of such an approach more is now among the pre-eminent institutions of cultural resembles the Buddhist parable of the blind men and stability and change at work on the planet. Currently, the elephant with each recounting. Depending upon ethnography is assuming a growing importance in the marketer's effort to influence the accommodation and which horn of a dilenmu I grab, I sense a snake, a resistance of consumers to the neocolonial forces of coluom or a granary, as my (mis)understanding shifts globalization. The ethical consequences of market-ori­ with each new purchase. That's why I've adopted such ented ethnography are explored in this essay. a punning title for this effort. I provide a personal account, through the prism of KEY WORDS: anthropology, consumerism, ethnogra­ my experience as a disciplinary interloper, of phy, globalization, marketing anthropology's engagement with the marketplace. The ambivalence of my home discipline has increased, as ethnography has become a current methodological darling of the market research community. My opening epigram captures this CORPORATION, 11. An lllgenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual anthropological ambivalence. For better and for responsibility. worse, marketing has become perhaps the greatest force of cultural stability and change at work in the Ambrose Bierce, The DeviI's Dictionary contemporary world (Sherry, 1995). Elsewhere (Sherry, 2000) I have claimed that the problems Let me disclose and disclaim at the outset of this essay. caused by marketing are best solved by marketing, I am an anthropologist, and not an ethicist. I am at and that such mitigation might be well informed by once a vocal critic ofand enthusiastic participant in the ethnography. This is a minority viewpoint in my culture ofconsumption I describe in these pages. As a tribe. A tribe that rightly fears abetting the rise of a "great imperium with the outlook of a great Johl1 F. Sherry, Jr., Herrick Professor al1d Chairmal1 of the emporium" (De Grazia, 2006, p. 3). Department of Marketil1g at the Ul1iversity of Notre Dame, As Hill (2007) has succinctly surveyed marketing's is al1 anthropolo,~ist who studies the sociocultural and symbolic critique of itself, my goal in this essay is a bit more dimel1siol1s of cOl1sumptiol1, and the ntltural ecology of mar­ ketil1g. His work appears il1 l1umerous joumals, book chap­ discursive. I begin by erecting an anthropological ters, professiol1al mal1uals al1d proceedil1gs. Sherry has edited platforn1 for the staging of ethics, and launching an Contemporary Marketing and Consumer Behavior: ethnographic sortie from the badlands ofmarketing. I An Anthropological Sourcebook, as well as Servi­ then examine consumer culture as a phenomenon of cescapes: The Concept of Place in Contemporary eutopic as well as dystopic proportion, and assert that Markets; he is co-editor of Advances in Consumer market-oriented ethnography can refine both our Research (Vol. 19), Time, Space and the Market: grasp and command of moral geography. I look to Retroscapes Rising, al1d Consumer Culture Theory. 86 John F. Sherry Jr. Scandinavian social science in particular for inspira­ Activism is a third crucial element bearing upon tion into enlightened intervention. I close with some ethics. Applied anthropology has a long history of anthropologically informed suggestions for managing involvement in public policy issues, in war efforts consumer culture. Throughout this essay, I strive not (both pro- and anti-), in human rights campaigns and to reify this culture, as its lived experience is wildly other civic spheres (Caplan, 2003; Edel and Ede!. variable across and within individuals. 1968; Hill and Baba, 2006). The classroom itself h,1S long been a radicalized, experiential forum. Finally, anthropology has traditionally been Anthropology concerned with the negotiation of authenticity (having tracked, once upon a time, the devolution A quick click through the web site of the American of "folklore" to "fakelore," and thence to '·take­ Anthropological Association (n.d.) will provide the lure"). The constitution of the true, the genuine, casual browser with enough of an inkling to surmise the real, the authoritative, the pure or pristine, Jnd that the discipline might be fraught with ethical the quest for an Ur-type touchstone of culrural complications. The holistic study ofall things human integrity have been elusive disciplinary preoccu­ in comparative perspective by ecumenical method is pations into the present moment. Understanding a fair definition, if not a felicitous description, of the distinctive, irreducible "x-ness" of x is only anthropology. Practitioners use sociocultural, lin­ gradually being tempered by notions of hybridity guistic, biological and archaeological orientations in and creolization that acknowledge the change that their quest for understanding. They track phenom­ is as foundational as stability. ena across time and space. They employ social In the context of consumer culture, these ele­ scientific and humanistic methods to produce idio­ ments give rise to perplexing questions. How do graphic and nomothetic accounts. Hybridity is cultural models of desire become internalized, and hardwired into the enterprise. Given the multidi­ how are they performed by individuals (Shweder, mensional nature of the undertaking, whether you 1991)? Can I speak of "my client," "my company" employ either a CIP spreading activation or CCT and "my segment" as I have of "my people?" How rhizomatic model of meaning management, it is can community-level consumerist commitment (for clear that an ethical nightmare awaits the hermenaut. example, in directed intervention approaches to Headhunting and cannibalism. Cliteridectomy and hypertension, substance abuse, HIV-AIDS and other hymenoplasty. Fraternity and sorority hazing rituals. conventional "targets") be leveraged on a global Insider trading and backdating. Nutraceuticals and scale, and mobilized in the service of other com­ cosmeceuticals. How are we to tell rite from wrong? plications and sequelae ofconsumer culture? What is For brevity's sake, the elements of anthropology the nature of authenticity in a mass- and super­ most linked to ethics can be reduced without great mediated environment? How authority is exercised violence. Anthropologists are consumed with the is­ is anthropology's ethical challenge. At issue is the sue of agency, and driven to consider the degrees of nature and legitimacy of social control. How ought freedom enjoyed by individuals in the face ofcultural power to be wielded? By what right do we intervene ideologies and social institutions. Whether construed in a culture? The sheer writing and publishing of an as free will or behavioral latitude, the relationship analysis is itself an intervention. Who benefits? How between individuals and power structures is a focal are the life chances of "my people" affected by my concern. Advocacy is a second, and related, vital work? I broach the nature of anthropological element. The anthropologist experiences an intense authority momentarily. identification with informants, and speaks, in an ironically proprietary way, of "my village" or "my people." Often, this population is disempowered, Ethnography disenfranchised, marginalized or under threat, and the anthropologist becomes a countervailing force in so­ Ethnography is the deep understanding of the lived cial relations. This imbalance becomes more prob­ experience of people as it unfolds in a particular lematic as we begin to "study up" (Nader, 1972). cultural context, and the representation of that The Ethnographer's Apprentice 87 understanding in ways that are faithful to that of turning now to the cultural consequences experience. An effective ethnographic account of of market-oriented ethnography (Arnould and behavior is not only cognitively enlightening, but Wallendorf, 1994). also viscerally evocative. It is sensual and cerebral. Perhaps most significantly, it is both method and Collision ofprofessional and commercial representation. Insight and understanding inhere in conceptions the actual crafting of the account. The typical eth­ nographic toolkit includes the following methods Commercial iconography invokes images from and techniques: archival analysis, trace analysis, par­ ethology (e.g., Business Week paraphrasing Diane ticipant observation, interview, photography, vide­ Fossey to depict the intrusive capturing of the ography, and projective tasking. As ethnography strange familiar ways of Consumers in the Mist), spreads to the virtual realms of cyberia and cyburbia, colonialism (e.g., Fortune caricaturizing Bill Gates in netnography becomes a favored approach (Sherry a pith helmet suitable for "pygmy hunting" to de­ and Kozinets, 2001). scribe Microsoft's acquisition practices) and voy­ Again, for brevity's
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Definition of Folklore: a Personal Narrative
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Department of Near Eastern Languages and Departmental Papers (NELC) Civilizations (NELC) 2014 A Definition of olklorF e: A Personal Narrative Dan Ben-Amos University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/nelc_papers Part of the Folklore Commons, Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons, and the Oral History Commons Recommended Citation Ben-Amos, D. (2014). A Definition of olklorF e: A Personal Narrative. Estudis de Literatura Oral Popular (Studies in Oral Folk Literature), 3 9-28. Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/nelc_papers/141 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/nelc_papers/141 For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Definition of olklorF e: A Personal Narrative Abstract My definition of folklore as "artistic communication in small groups" was forged in the context of folklore studies of the 1960s, in the discontent with the definitions that were current at the time, and under the influence of anthropology, linguistics - particularly 'the ethnography of speaking' - and Russian formalism. My field esearr ch among the Edo people of Nigeria had a formative impact upon my conception of folklore, when I observed their storytellers, singers, dancers and diviners in performance. The response to the definition was initially negative, or at best ambivalent, but as time passed, it took a more positive turn. Keywords context, communication, definition, performance,
    [Show full text]
  • Music for the People: the Folk Music Revival
    MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE: THE FOLK MUSIC REVIVAL AND AMERICAN IDENTITY, 1930-1970 By Rachel Clare Donaldson Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in History May, 2011 Nashville, Tennessee Approved Professor Gary Gerstle Professor Sarah Igo Professor David Carlton Professor Larry Isaac Professor Ronald D. Cohen Copyright© 2011 by Rachel Clare Donaldson All Rights Reserved For Mary, Laura, Gertrude, Elizabeth And Domenica ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would not have been able to complete this dissertation had not been for the support of many people. Historians David Carlton, Thomas Schwartz, William Caferro, and Yoshikuni Igarashi have helped me to grow academically since my first year of graduate school. From the beginning of my research through the final edits, Katherine Crawford and Sarah Igo have provided constant intellectual and professional support. Gary Gerstle has guided every stage of this project; the time and effort he devoted to reading and editing numerous drafts and his encouragement has made the project what it is today. Through his work and friendship, Ronald Cohen has been an inspiration. The intellectual and emotional help that he provided over dinners, phone calls, and email exchanges have been invaluable. I greatly appreciate Larry Isaac and Holly McCammon for their help with the sociological work in this project. I also thank Jane Anderson, Brenda Hummel, and Heidi Welch for all their help and patience over the years. I thank the staffs at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the Kentucky Library and Museum, the Archives at the University of Indiana, and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress (particularly Todd Harvey) for their research assistance.
    [Show full text]
  • FOLKLORE I N the MASS MEDIA Priscilla Denby Folklore Institute Indiana University As the Accompanying Cartoon (See Appendix ) Su
    FOLKLORE IN THE MASS MEDIA Priscilla Denby Folklore Institute Indiana University As the accompanying cartoon (see Appendix ) suggests ,l the disclosure of the powerful phenomenon known as the "media" in contemporary society is analogous to the opening of Pandora's box. It would seem that the media, a relatively new societal force, has literally "sprung up, It full-grown, in some mysterious fashion to the surprise and bewilderment of many -- and the consternation of a few -- and become a dominant influence in our cul- ture. Moreover, in keeping with the mythological analogy, it may be safe to assume that the artist equates the media with the societal ills which were released st the touch of Pandora's hand. Whether the media is indeed a general evil in present-day American society is debatable; what is to be briefly discussed here, however, is its effect upon, and how it is affected by, folklore. Based upon the small sampling of data collected in this study, I would tentatively hold that the media's influence upon and use of folklore has undergone a great change. In the 1920's and 1930's when American society seemed to be in need of some kind of folk image as a means of self-definition and identification, the media graciously obliged; the result was a virtual inundation of the "fakelore" typified by the "folk hero" tradition of a Paul Bunyan or a Johnny Appleseed. Today such figures still inhabit the media. Yet as far as I can tell, contemporary media is less cmcerned with the invention and promulgation of non-traditional lore and more concerned with traditional texts used in various contexts.
    [Show full text]
  • Storytelling
    Please do not remove this page Storytelling Anderson, Katie Elson https://scholarship.libraries.rutgers.edu/discovery/delivery/01RUT_INST:ResearchRepository/12643385580004646?l#13643502170004646 Anderson, K. E. (2010). Storytelling. SAGE. https://doi.org/10.7282/T35T3HSK This work is protected by copyright. You are free to use this resource, with proper attribution, for research and educational purposes. Other uses, such as reproduction or publication, may require the permission of the copyright holder. Downloaded On 2021/09/24 13:02:38 -0400 Chapter 28- 21st Century Anthropology: A Reference Handbook Edited by H. James Birx Storytelling Katie Elson Anderson, Rutgers University. Once upon a time before words were written, before cultures and societies were observed and analyzed there was storytelling. Storytelling has been a part of humanity since people were able to communicate and respond to the basic biological urge to explain, educate and enlighten. Cave drawings, traditional dances, poems, songs, and chants are all examples of early storytelling. Stories pass on historical, cultural, and moral information and provide escape and relief from the everyday struggle to survive. Storytelling takes place in all cultures in a variety of different forms. Studying these forms requires an interdisciplinary approach involving anthropology, psychology, linguistics, history, library science, theater, media studies and other related disciplines. New technologies and new approaches have brought about a renewed interest in the varied aspects and elements of storytelling, broadening our understanding and appreciation of its complexity. What is Storytelling? Defining storytelling is not a simple matter. Scholars from a variety of disciplines, professional and amateur storytellers, and members of the communities where the stories dwell have not come to a consensus on what defines storytelling.
    [Show full text]
  • English Folk Traditions and Changing Perceptions About Black People in England
    Trish Bater 080207052 ‘Blacking Up’: English Folk Traditions and Changing Perceptions about Black People in England Submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy by Patricia Bater National Centre for English Cultural Tradition March 2013 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA. Trish Bater 080207052 2 Abstract This thesis investigates the custom of white people blacking their faces and its continuation at a time when society is increasingly aware of accusations of racism. To provide a context, an overview of the long history of black people in England is offered, and issues about black stereotypes, including how ‘blackness’ has been perceived and represented, are considered. The historical use of blackface in England in various situations, including entertainment, social disorder, and tradition, is described in some detail. It is found that nowadays the practice has largely been rejected, but continues in folk activities, notably in some dance styles and in the performance of traditional (folk) drama. Research conducted through participant observation, interview, case study, and examination of web-based resources, drawing on my long familiarity with the folk world, found that participants overwhelmingly believe that blackface is a part of the tradition they are following and is connected to its past use as a disguise. However, although all are aware of the sensitivity of the subject, some performers are fiercely defensive of blackface, while others now question its application and amend their ‘disguise’ in different ways.
    [Show full text]
  • Folk Arts in Education: a Resource Handbook. INSTITUTION Michigan Stat Univ., East
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 390 743 SO 025 598 AUTHOR MacDowell, Marsha, Ed. TITLE Folk Arts in Education: A Resource Handbook. INSTITUTION Michigan Stat Univ., East. Lansing. University Museum. PUB DATE 87 NOTE 349p. PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom Use (055) Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MFOI/PC14 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Art Education; Cultural Pluralism; Curriculum Design: Curriculum Guides; *Educational Resources; Elementary Secondary Education; *Folk Culture; *Instructional Materials; *Program Descriptions; Program Design; Program Development; Teaching Guides; Traditionalism IDENTIFIERS *Folk Art; *Folk Patterns ABSTRACT This compendium of resources is designed for use by teachers, art educators, museum staff, youth leaders, program planners, and folklorists. Organized in the following way, chapter 1, "Folk Arts in Education," provides an overview of the development of folk-arts-in-education programs; chapter 2, "Reports from the Field," contains short reports from indiv:duals who have developed or participated in a variety of folk-arts-in education projects and programs; chapter 3, "Resources," is a listing of individuals and organizations who cuuld provide professional assistance for folk arts programming; chapter 4, "Bibliography," includes entries chosen to give general overviews of folklore study and specific references to folklife in education; and chapter 5, "Glossary," contains a short list of folklife and education terms. The remaining portion of this handbook contains excerpts from a wide range of materials developed for folk-arts-in-education projects. These excerpts indicate the variety of formats, approaches, and curriculum models used in the development of some projects. Each section of excerpts has been prefaced itri a short description. (MM) kebroduclions supplied by LDRS are the bestthat .an be made from the original document.
    [Show full text]
  • Poster Sets’ in the Early 1900S
    Fakelore to Folklore, Part 3, ‘Poster Sets’ in the early 1900s Peter Ellis In this section I’m going to deviate a little from the music and the actual dances to the ‘Folklife’ side, but it is still connected with quadrilles such as the Lancers which was one dance and music example singled out in the previous chapters. Around the turn of the previous century and through into the 1920s it became pop- ular to have ‘Poster Sets’. At fashionable balls in Australia sets of four or even eight couples would be supplied with costumes and themes as a marketing promotion, I guess, for various forms of produce, business and so on. I imagine such society ‘do’s’ with commercial promotion may not be regarded today as truly folklife. How- ever they certainly did catalyse copying the theme into folklife as will be evident in several of the Figures below on fancy dress sets in the bush. The sets wearing these costumes would be judged on their dancing ability in the Lancers or First Set, Alberts, Waltz Cotillion etc. as well as the costume concept and the winning set would be awarded trophies or prizes. The latest flashlight pho- tography provided opportunity for many of the couples to have snaps taken for their personal memorabilia and perhaps even publication in the local paper or magazine. Here are a number of such ‘Poster Sets’ Fig.s 1 - 3 from the Leader taken the late Frank Cusack. Fig. 1. The Co-operative Coupon Co. poster set. This depicts a double set of eight couples so that the Quadrille or First Set (or in the Royal Irish form) would lend itself for dancing tops and sides as couples in doubles with their opposites.
    [Show full text]
  • Folklore and Contemporary Mass Media: an Assessment with Special Reference to Sri Lanka
    231 Folklore and Contemporary Mass Media: An Assessment with Special Reference to Sri Lanka Darshana Liyanage Abstract The terms “Folk” and “mass” are considered to be categorically opposite. Although it is said that the folk ceased to exist when the mass arises, the return of folklore in mass media tells a different story. On the topic of the relation between folklore and mass media in contemporary societies three terms that have been in use in folklore scholarship can be identified, namely: „fakelore‟, „folklure‟ and „folklorismus‟ In spite of the differences among them, the terminology reveals that both media studies and folklore studies have reached a meeting point of a shared phenomenon. In analyzing this new phenomenon and prominently challenging the idea of the death of the folklore in the age of mass media, in 1994, American folklorist Linda Dégh, described the complex coexistence between the two (Dégh 1994). This paper is intended to examine the relation between folklore and mass media in contemporary Sri Lanka, mainly deploying Dégh‟s theoretical perspective. A sample of media materials that significantly exemplify this complex coexistence will be analyzed and tested against the hypothesis: “mass media and folklore in contemporary Sri Lanka are in convergence of a complex process of telling and re-telling creating new sites of mass/folk lore”. Key Words: Folk, Mass, Films, TV commercials, TV serials Running Head: FOLKLORE AND MASS MEDIA IN SRI LANKA 232 Introduction Three terms are in vogue to explain the relationship between folklore and mass media in folklore scholarship: „fakelore‟, „folklure‟ and „folklorismus‟. The term „fakelore‟, coined by the American folklorist Richard M.
    [Show full text]
  • Negotiating Tradition Insights Into Positions, Strategies, and Perspectives Pertaining to Cultural Property
    ommunicative interactions in international negotiations on cultural proper- 4 ty not only provide information about the emergence and proliferation of arguments,C rhetorics, and registers, but also permit valuable insights into actors’ positions, strategies and alliances. They signifi cantly infl uence local and national practices and views related to cultural property debates. What can be gained from a deep analysis of the communicative patterns and strategies that actors engage in – the entailing text and talk of negotiations – is a better understanding of the process itself: how do different actors argue, what kind of strategies and rhetorics do they use, to which instruments and institutions do they refer, and in what way do actors react to each other? An analysis of communicative interactions contributes to the question of how international negotiations work. The analytic inclusion of sociolinguistic practices allows Negotiating Tradition insights into positions, strategies, and perspectives pertaining to cultural property. By looking at not only what actors say, but also at how and in what contexts they do so, it is possible to make more accurate statements about their positions and perceptions in cultural property debates. As these communi- cative interactions infl uence outcomes considerably, an approach from linguistic The Pragmatics of anthropology is not only benefi cial for an understanding of specifi c negotiations, International Deliberations but also for the analysis of broader cultural property issues. on Cultural Property Stefan Groth Göttingen Studies in Cultural Property, Volume 4 Tradition Negotiating Stefan Groth Stefan ISBN: 978-3-86395-100-9 ISSN: 2190-8672 Universitätsverlag Göttingen Universitätsverlag Göttingen Stefan Groth Negotiating Tradition This work is licensed under the Creative Commons License 3.0 “by-nd”, allowing you to download, distribute and print the document in a few copies for private or educational use, given that the document stays unchanged and the creator is mentioned.
    [Show full text]
  • Notes and Reviews
    Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics 11 (2): 137–143 DOI: 10.1515/jef-2017-0017 NOTES AND REVIEWS INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR SIMON J. BRONNER According to an American Folklore Society Folklore at Pennsylvania State University, (AFS) inside joke, Simon Bronner bears a Harrisburg; and yet, this knowledge goes far striking resemblance to Alan Dundes. Many a beyond academia and the USA. true word is spoken in jest, and this compari- son goes beyond facial similarity: Bronner is a You wrote your dissertation in the 1970s renowned figure within folklore studies with and early 1980s at Indiana University, the wide knowledge and an impressive record acclaimed research centre for folklore, eth- of influential writing. He has written about nomusicology and humanities. Who were topics as diverse as Jewish and children’s your teachers? How did these years shape folklore, material culture and masculinity, your later academic career and your under- campus traditions and Internet folklore, to standing of folklore? name just a few. His most cited works are I came to Indiana University with my MA monographs as different as American Folklore from the Cooperstown Graduate Program, Studies: An Intellectual History (1986), Consum- which was organized on the European model ing Visions: Accumulation and Display of Goods of ethnology or folklife with a heavy empha- in America, 1880–1920 (1989), and Explaining sis on American material culture and commu- Traditions: Folk Behavior in Modern Culture nity life. Louis C. Jones, Roderick J. Roberts, (2011). What distinguishes Bronner’s writ- and Bruce Buckley, who were experts in folk ing is an accessible style that attracts more art, architecture, and music were the promi- and more readers, without watering down nent folklorists there.
    [Show full text]
  • Dead Man Still Walking: a Critical Investigation Into the Rise and Fall
    Dead Man Still Walking: A Critical Investigation into the Rise and Fall . and Rise of Zombie Cinema Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Bishop, Kyle William Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 24/09/2021 04:36:09 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194727 DEAD MAN STILL WALKING: A CRITICAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE RISE AND FALL . AND RISE OF ZOMBIE CINEMA by Kyle William Bishop ________________________ Copyright © Kyle William Bishop 2009 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2009 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Kyle William Bishop entitled Dead Man Still Walking: A Critical Investigation into the Rise and Fall . and Rise of Zombie Cinema and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 10 June 2009 Susan White _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 10 June 2009 Jerrold E. Hogle _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 10 June 2009 Carlos Gallego Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College.
    [Show full text]
  • On Folklore's Appeal: a Personal Essay
    93 • Articles • On Folklore’s Appeal: A Personal Essay JEFFREY A. TOLBERT Indiana University Abstract: Popular perceptions of disciplinary folklore are necessarily different from academic ones. This article argues that taking these differing perceptions seriously, and actively engaging with them, is critical to ensuring the continued relevance of academic folklore study. Examining several examples of popular thinking about what folklore is reveals important areas for scholarly intervention, ones which pay due respect to both academic and non-academic expectations and understandings. To this end, the methods and insights of public folklorists can be brought to bear on academic publishing and disciplinary engagement with non-academics. The Grudge 2 (Shimizu 2006) is a horror film set in Tokyo that focuses on the vengeful ghost of a murdered woman named Kayako. In a laughably hammy scene the main characters, Eason and Aubrey, are discussing how to deal with the supernatural antagonist. They have found Kayako’s journal, which contains clues to her mysterious past, including her mother’s role as an itako, or shaman. Unable to decipher part of the journal, Eason declares, “I have a friend. He’s really into folklore. I think he can help us.” In conversations with friends and colleagues I have often referenced Eason’s comment, which I find both amusing and fascinating. This representation of folklore, and of a “folklorist” character, is typical of popular culture treatments of these topics (see Tolbert 2016 for a discussion of similar representations in a popular video game series). Importantly, this is not necessarily a wholly inaccurate representation: many folklorists do indeed study supernatural traditions.
    [Show full text]