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AFSNews December 1997 (Part Nine) |
Bytelore
In this installment, Clare Sammells discusses the impact of the Internet on the folklore of those who are not "on line." This column is based on her research in Costa Rica. If you are interested in writing a Bytelore column, please let me know. For those of you who may be interested, the Web site of the American Folklore Society is at http://afsnet. org. The AFS Gopher is at gopher.panam.edu. The address for the FOLKLORE discussion list is folklore@tamvm1 on BITNET and folklore@listserv.tamvm1.tamu.edu on the Internet.
Mark Glazer Edinburg, Texas mglazer@panam.edu
The Internet and Folklore
It is clear that the ability of the Internet and e-mail to transmit information quickly and widely has had an effect on the transmission of folklore. But it also is worth bearing in mind that the Internet may have a secondary effect on folklore due to how those who are not yet "on line" understand what the Internet is and how it works. For those who do not have access to the Internet, this source of information may take on an undeserved validity.
I encountered this in Costa Rica when, during the resurfacing of the Blue Star Tattoo urban legend in the United States last July, a Costa Rican friend told me that a similar letter was posted in Llobet's, the only department store in Alajuela, Costa Rica. "And it's from the U.S. government," he informed me knowingly.
Curious, I went to Llobet's to see it myself. Posted there was a enlarged copy of a letter signed and authenticated by the Costa Rican general director of health. Addressed to the minister of education, it read: "I wish to share the following message, which was transmitted via INTERNET to Captain William Kraus, lawyer of the Air Force of the United States: `. . . For all of you who have children, regardless of their age. Please make sure as many people receive this as possible'" (my translation from Spanish).
The letter goes on to share the details of the Blue Star Tattoo, impregnated with LSD, that leads children who absorb the drug through contact with the skin to poisoning, drug addiction and possible death. The letter ends with a plea: "Please, copy this message and pass it on to members of your community and employers. Distribute this message about the danger to our children."
Obviously, Costa Ricans took this official notice from the government very seriously. A few days later, another concerned friend who works with children showed me a letter she had received from the director of a local high school. It began, "The General Director of Health sent us the following letter she received via INTERNET, asking that we send it on to parents regardless of the age of their children." The letter that was posted in Llobet's followed verbatim.
Since Captain Kraus's credentials as a representative of the U.S. Air Force were so carefully explained in the first letter, I expected this connection to be an important means of validating the truth of the letter, much in the same way that I was told it was "from the U.S. government." Instead, in the second letter the Internet alone is cited as the source. The importance of the Internet is emphasized by capitalizing every letter of the word.
In a nation where few are connected to the Internet and those who are generally have little experience with it, perhaps the very fact of transmission by Internet lends legitimacy to a communication. Talking later about this with a Costa Rican, he commented, "Saying you saw it on the Internet is like saying you read it in the newspaper. People believe it even when they shouldn't, because they think everything in the newspaper is true."
People who cannot read sometimes assume that literate writings must be true, or more valid, by virtue of being written rather than spoken. The assumption continues today, in our literate society, that things that are written down have more weight than those that were merely heard. It would be easy to imagine that the Internet would breed the same unquestioned trust among those who are not familiar with it. This begs the question if that effect would be even greater in developing nations, where those with access to the Internet are, so far, a very exclusive group indeed.
Clare Sammells
GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS
The VFH Center for the Humanitites announces yearlong and semester residential Fellowships for the 1998-99 academic year. Fellows receive stipends, offices and access to University of Virginia facilities. Affiliate Fellowships (unfunded), providing offices, university access and full affiliation with the community, are also available. The center supports interdisciplinary research relevant to public life, science and the social contract, globalization and community, Virginia in its 400th year, African American studies and Southern literature and history are among special VFH interests, but other subjects and issues within the humanities are funded as well. For more information, contact VFH Center for the Humanities, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy, 145 Ednam Dr., Charlottesville, VA 22903 (tel: 804/924-3296; fax: 804/296-4714; e-mail: cah@virginia.edu). The application deadline is December 1, 1997.
The Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women announces postdoctoral fellowships in residence that will provide stipends of $25,000 for research that relates to a topic that changes every year. Themes for the 1998-99 competition and applications became available September 1997. Fellowships are open to untenured scholars in the humanities and social sciences, especially third world and minority scholars. For more information, contact: Elizabeth Barboza, Coordinating Secretary, Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women, Box 1958, Brown Univ., Providence, RI 02912 (tel: 401/863-2643). The application deadline is December 12, 1997.
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation announces its Newcombe Dissertation Fellowships to support the study of ethical or religious values in all fields of the humanities and social sciences. Topics include: philosophy and religion, the ethical implications of foreign policy, the values determining political decisions, moral codes of other cultures and religious or ethical values as reflected in history and literature. Applicants must be doctoral candidates with all coursework completed. Stipend is $14,000 per year. For more information, contact: Judith Pinch, Newcombe Dissertation Fellowships, Wilson (Woodrow) National Fellowship Foundation, CN 5281, Princeton, NJ 08543-5281 (tel: 609/452-7007; web: http://www.woodrow.org/newcombe/). The application deadline is December 12, 1997.
UCLA/Institute of American Cultures announces two types of awards to support research in residence in Afro-American, American Indian, Asian American, and Chicano studies: recent Ph.D. recipients are eligible for fellowships of $23,000 to $28,000, depending on rank and experience; senior scholars are eligible for visiting scholar awards to supplement sabbatical salaries. The center is particularly interested in the support of policy-oriented research. Additional support for specific research costs may also be provided in both categories. All application deadlines are December 31, 1997. For more information, contact the appropriate ethnic studies center:
Terri-Lynn Cross, Staff Research Associate, Center for Afro- American Studies, UCLA/Institute of American Cultures, Univ. of California at Los Angeles, Box 951545, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1545 (tel: 310/206-8267).
Lynn Gamble, American Indian Studies Center, UCLA/Institute of American Cultures, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Box 951548, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1548 (tel: 310/825-7315).
Don Nakanishi, Director, Asian American Studies Center, UCLA/Institute of American Cultures, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Box 951546, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1546 (tel: 310/825- 2974).
Guillermo Hernandez, Director, Chicano Studies Center, UCLA/Institute of American Cultures, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Box 951544, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1544 (tel: 310/825- 2363).
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture announces its Scholars-in-Residence Program for the 1998-99 academic year. The fellowship program includes projects in African, Afro- American and Afro-Caribbean history and culture. The program is open to professionals in fields related to the center's collections and program activities and should utilize a humanistic approach and contribute to humanistic knowledge. Applicants are encouraged to consult the center's staff regarding holdings. Fellows will hold full-time residencies for 6 months (with a stipend of $15,000) or one year (up to $30,000) and will have access to both the Schomburg Center and the New York Public Library. Candidates for advanced degrees must have received the degree or completed all requirements for it by the application deadline; persons seeking support for research leading to degrees are not eligible to apply. Foreign nationals are not eligible unless they will have resided in the U.S. for three years immediately prior to the award date. For more information, contact the Scholars-in-Residence Program, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd., New York, NY 10037-1801 (tel: 212/491-2203; web: http://www.nypl.org/research/sc/scm/specfea.html). The application deadline is January 12, 1998.
The Library Company of Philadelphia announces Research Fellowships in American History and Culture for 1998-99. The one-month fellowships in residence support postdoctoral and dissertation research and may be used any time between June 1998 and May 1999. Founded in 1731, the Library Company was the largest public library in America until the 1850s and contains printed materials on every aspect of American culture and society of that period. The project proposal should demonstrate that the Library Company has primary source central to the research topic. The stipend is $1,400. Candidates are encouraged to inquire about the appropriateness of a proposed topic before applying; there is no application form, and applicants should send four copies each of a CV, a 2-4 page description of the proposed project, and a letter of reference to: James Green, Assistant Librarian, The Library Company, 1314 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19107 (tel: 215/546- 3181; fax: 215/546-5167; e-mail: jgreen@worldlynx.net). The application deadline is February 1, 1998.
The Missouri Historical Society announces its 1998 research fellowship. Fellows may participate in an oral historical study of African American neighborhood life in St. Louis or conduct independent research on the regions's African American history. The fellowship may last one to three months and carries a stipend of $1700/month. The deadline is February 28, 1998. For details and an application, write MHS Research Division, Box 11940, St. Louis, MO 63112.
The Rockefeller Foundation's 1998-99 Humanities Fellowships support scholars and writers engaged in research on transnational issues, non-Western cultures and the diverse cultural heritage of the Americas. For 1998-99, individuals can apply for resident fellowships at the host institutions listed below. By supporting resident fellowships, the foundation seeks to promote the interdisciplinary dialogue that is the landmark of new scholarship in the humanities, provide resources and encouragement to innovative scholars and fortify the institutions that are advancing this work. The fellowships are meant to serve scholars who are testing disciplinary boundaries or moving into newer fields of inquiry within the humanities. Although the majority of the fellow's time will be spent pursuing his or her own research toward publication, the residency may involve participation in seminars, conferences or other collaborative activities within the host program. Awards may not be used for the completion of graduate studies, for advanced training, for curriculum development projects or for writing poetry or fiction. Complete information about eligibility, stipends and procedures is available directly from the current host institutions described briefly below, in order of application due date:
December 3, 1997
Institute on Violence, Culture and Survival, Virginia Center for the Humanities, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy. Contact: Roberta Culbertson, Institute Director, 145 Ednam Dr., Charlottesville, VA, 22903-4629 (tel: 804/924-3296; fax: 804/296-4714; e-mail: rac3r@virginia.edu).
January 2, 1998
Program in Agrarian Studies, Yale University. Contact: James C. Scott, Director, Program in Agrarian Studies, Box 208300, Yale Univ., New Haven, CT 06520-8300 (tel: 203/432-9833; fax: 203/432-5036).
Native Philosophy Project, Lakehead University. Contact: Connie H. Nelson, Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, Lakehead Univ., 955 Oliver Rd., Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B 5E1, Canada (tel: 807/343-8793; e-mail: connie.nelson@lakeheadu.ca).
Repatriating African Knowledge, Acknowledging African Perspectives, African Humanities Institute, Harvard University. Contact: Rita Breen, Committee on African Studies, 1737 Cambridge St., Rm. 202, Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA 02138 (617/495-5265; fax: 617/496-5183; e-mail: cafrica@fas.harvard.edu).
Project on Cities and Urban Knowledges, International Center for Advanced Studies, New York University. Contact: Thomas Bender, Director, International Center for Advanced Studies, 53 Washington Sq. South, Rm. 401, New York, NY 10012-1098 (tel: 212/998-3770; fax: 212/995-4546; e-mail: icas.cities@nyu.edu).
Project for Critical Asian Studies, University of Washington. Contact: Ann Anagnost and Tani Barlow, Project for Critical Asian Studies, Univ. of Washington, Center for the Humanities, Lewis Annex II, Box 353910, Seattle, WA 98195-3910 (tel: 206/616-8590; fax: 206/685-4080; e-mail: critas@u.washington).
January 20, 1998
Fellowships in Gender Studies, Center for Renaissance Studies, Newberry Library. Contact: Ray Clemens, Associate Director, Newberry Library Center for Renaissance Studies, 60 W. Walton St., Chicago, IL 60610 (tel: 312/255-3539; fax: 312/255- 3513). January 24, 1998
Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, San Antonio, Texas. Contact: Veronica Rodriguez Marin, Project Coordinator, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, 1300 Guadalupe, San Antonio, TX 78207 (tel: 210/271- 3151; fax: 210/271-3480).
January 30, 1998
Latino Cultural Research in a National Museum Context: Issues of Representation and Interpretation, Smithsonian Institution with the Inter University Program for Latino Research. Contact: Magdalena Mieri, Museum Program Specialist, CMS, A&I 2235, MRC 427, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20560 (202/357-3162; fax: 202/357-3346).
January 31, 1998
North American Religious Diversity and the Academic Study of Religion, University of Toronto. Contact: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Centre for the Study of Religion, Univ. of Toronto, 123 St. George St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2E8 (tel: 416/978- 2395; fax: 416/978-1610; e-mail: jane.mcauliffe@utoronto.ca).
February 1, 1998
Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago. Contact: Samuel A. Floyd Jr., Director, Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago, 600 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60605 (tel: 312/663-1600 ext. 7559; e-mail: cbmr@popmail.colum.edu).
Center for the Study of Public Scholarship, Emory University. Contact: Tom LaPorte, Center for the Study of Public Scholarship, Callaway Center, Emory Univ., Atlanta, GA 30322 (e-mail: tlaport@emory.edu).
The Privatization of Culture, New York University. Contact: George Yudice, American Studies Program, 285 Mercer St., 8th Fl., New York, NY 10003 (tel: 212/998-8538 or 212/995-4371).
Womanist Studies Consortium, The University of Georgia. Summer Seminar Fellows only should submit a letter of intent with proposed title/topic by December 1, 1997. Contact: Layli Phillips or Barbara McCaskill, Codirectors, Institute for African-American Studies, Univ. of Georgia, 164 Psychology Bldg., Athens, GA 30602-3012 (tel: 706/542-5197; fax: 706/542-3071; e-mail: layli@uga.cc.uga.edu or bmccaski@uga.cc.uga.edu; web: http://www.uga.edu/womanist).
February 13, 1998
Institute for the Study of Gender in Africa, University of California, Los Angeles. Contact: James S. Coleman African Studies Center, 10244 Bunche Hall, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095-1310 (tel: 310/825-3686; fax: 310/206-2250).
February 15, 1998
Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS), Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York. Contact: Jill Dolan, Executive Director, CLAGS, 33 West 42nd St., Rm. 404N, New York, NY 10036-8099 (tel: 212/642-2920; fax: 212/642- 2924; e-mail: clags@broadway.gc.cuny.edu).
Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Gender in Appalachia, Marshall University. Contact: Carl Burrowes and Lynda Ann Ewen, Codirectors, Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Gender in Appalachia, Marshall Univ., 400 Hal Greer Blvd., 349 Old Main, Huntington, WV 25755-2667 (tel: 304/696-3348; fax: 304/696-3197; e- mail: csega@marshall.edu).
International Forum for U.S. Studies, The University of Iowa. Contact: Jane Desmond and Virginia Dominguez, Codirectors, International Forum for U.S. Studies, Univ. of Iowa, 226 International Center, Iowa City, IA 52242-1802 (tel: 309/335- 2476; fax: 319/335-0280).
Oral History Research Office, Columbia University. Contact: Mary Marshall Clark and Ronald J. Grele, Oral History Research Office, Box 20, Butler Library, Columbia Univ., New York, NY 10027 (tel: 212/854-2273; fax: 212/854-5378; e-mail: www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/oral/).
Program for the Study of Sexuality, Gender, Health, and Human Rights, Columbia University School of Public Health. Contact: Carole S. Vance, Program for the Study of Sexuality, Gender, Health and Human Rights, Division of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia Univ. School of Public Health, 600 W. 168th St., 7th Fl., New York, NY 10032 (tel: 212/305-5656; fax: 212/305-6832; e-mail: sms.sph@columbia.edu; web: http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/gender).
March 16, 1998
Native American Studies, University of California, Davis. Contact: Stefano Varese, IRCA, Native American Studies, Univ. of California, Davis, CA 95616 (tel: 916/752-0357 or 916/754-8221; fax: 916/752-7097; e-mail: indigenous@ucdavis.edu; web: http://cougar.ucdavis.edu/nas).
April 7, 1998
CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, Graduate School and University Center, The City College of the City University of New York. Contact: Silvio Torres-Saillant, CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, City Coll. of New York, NAC Rm. 4/107, New York, NY 10031-9198 (tel: 212/650-7496; fax: 212/650-7489; e-mail: dsi@phantom.cct.ccny.cuny.edu).
ELECTRONIC MEDIA
AnthroGlobe is pleased to announce that a web page for the IUAES, the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, is now on line at http://lucy. ukc.ac.uk/IUAES. There will be further developments in the IUAES pages. A good deal of text remains to be added with the potentiality of interactive pages. At press time the site contains information about the union itself, the ICAES in Washington in 1998 and two commissions, on Theoretical Anthropology and on the Anthropology of Women. Feedback may be sent to secretary-general Eric Sunderland (e-mail: aoaoo2@bangor.ac.uk) or the union president Vinson Sutlive (e-mail: vhsutl@mail.wm.edu).
DATEBOOK
1997
December 5 Hoosier Folklore Society, Indiana State University (see August 1997 AFSN, p. 8)
December 27-30 Modern Language Association, Toronto, Ontario
1998
January 29-February 1 Zora Neal Hurston (see August 1996 AFSN, p. 8)
February 18-22 The Association for the Study of Play (TASP), St. Petersburg, FL (see October 1997 AFSN, p. 15)
April 14-17 The State of Play: Perspectives on Children's Oral Culture (see August 1997 AFSN, p. 8)
April 16-18 Delta Studies IV: Creative Expressions beyond the Blues (see August 1997 AFSN, p. 8)
May 27-30 7th International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Columbia, MO (see April 1997 AFSN, p. 11)
June 4-6 International Country Music Conference, Nashville, TN (see October 1997 AFSN, p. 15)
June 28- July 1 Crossroads in Cultural Study, Tampere, Finland (see August 1997 AFSN, p. 8)
July 10-12 Folksong: Tradition and Revival, Sheffield, England (see October 1997 AFSN, p. 15)
July 21-24 International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, Innsbruck, Austria (see August 1997 AFSN, p. 9)
October 28-November 1 American Folklore Society, Portland, OR
October 22-25 Society for Ethnomusicology, Bloomington, IN
December 2-6 American Anthropological Association, Philadelphia, PA
December 27-30 Modern Language Association, San Francisco, CA
Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation
Publication title, American Folklore Society News; publication number, 0745-5178; filing date, 10/3/97; frequency, bimonthly; no. of issues published annually, 6; annual subscription price, $20.00; publisher, American Folklore Society, 4350 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 640, Arlington, VA 22203-1620; editor, Shalom Staub, Institute for Cultural Partnerships, 3901 N. Front St., Harrisburg, PA 17110-1554; managing editor, none; owner, American Folklore Society.
Actual no. copies issue nearest filing date, 1,700; unmailed sales, 0; paid subscriptions, 1,216; total paid circulation, 1,216; total free distribution, 21; total distribution, 1,237; copies not distributed, 463.
Average no. copies preceding 12 months, 1,775; unmailed sales, 0; paid subscriptions, 1,226; total paid circulation, 1,226; total free distribution, 21; total distribution, 1,247; copies not distributed, 528.