Kathleen Glenister Roberts

Texturing the narrative paradigm: Folklore and communication

Although communication theory is often informed by other disciplines, scholarly connections with folklore have been few. As communication scholars become increasingly interested in narrative as a topic of study for the future, it seems important to return to the past: To folklore, and to Walter Fishers work in communication that yielded the narrative paradigm. This paper suggests ways in which complementary understandings of narrative in folklore and in Fishers paradigm could coinform each other and thereby enrich both disciplines. Many ideas about communication and the narrative paradigm can be empirically strengthened by the work of folklore scholars. At the same time, communication scholarship informs folklores attempts to merge aesthetic and social processes in folklore and encouraging the conversation between disciplines to continue.

Visual Argument in Intercultural Contexts: Perspectives on Folk/traditional Art

This essay builds upon previous research in visual argument, further refuting objections through an examination of folk art theory. Folk art introduces unique perspectives on the role of art within and between communities, and establishes potential frames wherein folk artists assert communal identities and may refute colonial ones. Folk art thus presents a unique case in visual argument, grounded in contextual representation and significant for intercultural communication. As a case study explicating the role of folk art in visual argument, this essay traces the development of Blackfeet beadwork from 1895 to 1935.

“Brand America”: Media and the Framing of “Cosmopolitan” Identities

Dialogues and claims surrounding identities are significant aspects of culture (including media framing) in any historical moment. However, the last decade seems to have been marked by accelerated polarization in intercultural and international discourses in the United States. A heightened consciousness of identity negotiation (or identity claim) is unfolding inthe media, pointing to increasing unease in the public sphere about “Americas place in the world.” This is particularly true in an analysis of the 2008 Presidential campaign. Yet statements of national loyalty on the one hand and “world citizenship” on the other are not reserved for higher office; everyday citizens seem to be grappling as never before with an “either-or” dialectic when it comes to national and international idenitities. My essay is an analysis of these identity claims which nearly always occur in a dialectic. While the first isolationist claim has its obvious drawbacks, I argue that the cosmopolitan identity claim is equally challenging in the current international climate. I explore the potential for a middle ground between these two extreme positions, asking in what ways media identity-framing within domestic and international issues can reflect evolving commitments to social justice.