This essay concerns the role of key faculty in developing folklore research and teaching programs at UCLA, particularly Robert A. Georges. It also deals with students learning about folklore and mythology through performances, conferences, and other sources, some of which they initiated and directed. Further, this article surveys how students engaged in folkloristic practices in the sense of initiating and perpetuating social traditions, putting their developing knowledge and skills about others' traditions into professional practice, and finding employment after graduation in academe, the entertainment industry, the public sector, and other venues. Last, Ifocus on Denise Ann Kozikowski, a former student of mine to whose memory this issue of the journal is dedicated.
Wroclaw, Poland, has gnomes! Visitors to the city may come on one of these metal pieces almost anywhere: on the street, a lamppost, or a windowsill, or next to an ATM machine. While they are kitschy, fun, and whimsical, their meaning, often ignored, has depth. It comments on the city's rich and tumultuous history and addresses art, ownership, and political strife.
Many colleges have moved away from folklore studies and privileged theoretical perspectives believing that the study of folklore is no longer relevant. However, folklore is the study of what people do individually, communally, and societally and why they choose to do so. Understanding peoples' thoughts and actions at all levels of society and through time cannot be outdated. Using embodied identity as a framework and oral-formulaic analysis as a process clears pathways for a new understanding of how folktales, social practices, and performances capture the lasting effects of imposed historical narratives and beliefs in social hierarchies. Reviewing these forms of communication and their role in creating societal cohesion or discord allows us to adopt a more egalitarian analytical lens that reveals a more accurate picture of ourselves and our societies.
My exploration begins with a personal narrative, followed by a discussion of how decolonizing methodologies reframed my understanding of applied folklore ethics and methods. I describe ways I am collaborating with a documentary filmmaker and curanderas (women healers) in Los Angeles who supported the Latinx community during the COVID-19 pandemic. I use critical frameworks to build on applied folklore in ways that can advance the field as well as support the goals of community researchers I engage with.
Robert A. Georges, who broke new ground in the analysis of narrating events during his long career at UCLA, passed along his insight into storytelling to the author, his son, who applies those lessons to his work as a designer of immersive ride experiences at the Disney amusement parks, taking the family tradition and understanding of storytelling events to a new level of expression.
