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Dec 28

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Big OA Journal Project Underway in India

An ambitious gold open access journal publishing effort for folkloristics and neighboring fields (ethnomusicology, tribal studies, regional studies, and performance studies) is underway in India. The National Folklore Support Centre is using Open Journal Systems to host fourteen journals, both new and established. Some have been publishing for some time, others have launched with inaugural issues, others are announced but still in the works. The journal editorial offices seem to span India, with a diversity of editorial teams and research concerns.  See what the effort looks like at the NFSC portal, here. Congratulations to all involved.

Dec 13

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Storytelling on the Northern Irish Border

Here is a quick note to celebrate the publication of my friend Ray Cashman’s new book Storytelling on the Northern Irish Border, which has just been released by Indiana University Press. Here is the blurb:

Folklore is crucial to life in Aghyaran, a mixed Catholic-Protestant border community in Northern Ireland. Neighbors socialize during wakes and ceil (informal nighttime gatherings) regardless of religious, ethnic, or political affiliations. The witty, sometimes raucous stories swapped on these occasions offer a window into community and identity in the wake of decades of violent conflict and change. Through local character anecdotes, participants explore the nature of community and identity in ways that may transcend exclusively Catholic or Protestant sectarian histories and identities.

IUP would be happy to sell you a copy here.  Coming soon to a library near you here.

Congratulations Ray!



Dec 13

Gabrielle Berlinger Defends M.A. Thesis

Congratulations to Gabrielle Berlinger who completed her M.A. in Folklore in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University today with a very successful oral exam covering her studies in general and her thesis project “Ritual Interpretation: The Sukkah as Jewish Vernacular Architecture” in particular. Her well recieved thesis is an ethnography of Sukkot observance in Bloomington, Indiana, with an emphasis of the physical structures built and used by families and community organizations here. A significant contribution to research on Jewish material culture and to the study of Jewish life in the smaller communities of North America, the study is also a pilot project for future examinations of the topic in other communities elsewhere in the world. Her committee was uniformly pleased with her efforts and I am very proud to have served as her chair. Well done.

Dec 12

On The Grace of Four Moons

IU media relations has distributed a press release profiling my colleague Pravina Shukla’s fine ethnography of dress and adornment in India, The Grace of Four Moons, recently published by Indiana University Press. Find the release online here. (Image: Courtesy of Indiana University.)

The Grace of Four Moons (cover)

The Grace of Four Moons (cover)

Dec 11

Museum Anthropology 32(1)

mua32_1

Editorial work on Musueum Anthropology volume 32, number 1 is almost complete. The issue will soon go to the publisher. As a preview, here is a Wordle of the issue’s contents.

Find the full-size version online here. Thanks http://www.wordle.net/ Thanks as well to the authors and peer-reviewers whose work will be showcased in this, the Spring 2009, issue.

Dec 4

Religion among the Folk in Egypt

Heartfelt congratulations to my colleague Hasan M. El-Shamy on the publication of his brand new book Religion Among the Folk in Egypt.

Dec 4

Suzanne Ingalsbe Earns M.A. with Thesis Exhibition and Paper on Indiana Instrument Builders

Continuing with a theme… Congratulations to Suzanne Ingalsbe on the completion of her M.A. in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University. Suzanne’s thesis project centered on the building of a gallery exhibition exploring the work and works of a large number of Indiana makers of musical instruments. This exhibition, which was staged last spring at the John Waldron Arts Center, was an extension of a long term research and interpretation project pursued by Traditional Arts Indiana. (Learn more about the broader project here.) The exhibition was attractive, lively, well-researched, and well-received. In her accompanying paper, Suzanne documented the behind the scenes work that went into the exhibition and set it within the larger contexts of scholarship related to the history of artistic and ethnographic museum display and conceptual debates within folklore studies. Great job Suzanne.

Dec 2

Jody Perkins Earns M.A. with Thesis Project on the Hinkle-Garton Farmstead

Congratulations to Jody Perkins on the completion of her M.A. in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University. Jody’s thesis project focused on collecting, processing and archiving oral history interviews related to the The Hinkle-Garton Farmstead, which is now maintained as a museum by Bloomington Restorations, Inc., “a private not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Bloomington and Monroe County’s historic architecture and old neighborhoods.” In addition to the original farmstead-related research that she and her collaborators complled, Jody presented and defended a thesis placing this work within the context of the scholarly literatures on oral history, folk and open air museums, and historic preservation practice. Well done!