Western Folklore

Vol. 78 No. 1 – Winter, 2019

Articles

Bodies without Borders: The Sinews and Circuitry of “folklore+”
London Brickley
 
ABSTRACT: The following paper presents an introductory glance at the sensory “modifications”, “body hacks”, and “upgrades” practiced among “h+ biohackers”—a global community of individuals who have come together under the common goal of human enhancement through self-directed evolution—to consider how such bio-based participation towards human augmentation has already begun to transform the boundaries of the twenty-first century ‘folk+’. KEYWORDS: Biohacking, transhumanism, body studies, futurism, folklore+.

Ghost Stories from the Uncanny Valley: Androids, Souls, and the Future of Being Haunted
Tok Thompson
 
ABSTRACT: This article explores the future genre of android ghosts, utilizing age-old concepts of ghosts, and souls, in helping to prepare for the difficult social, legal, and ethical questions raised by the introduction of artificially-intelligent human simulacra (“androids”) into our contemporary lives. KEYWORDS: Cyborg, Ghosts, Androids, Posthumanism

Dating Websites and Disability Identity: Presentations of the Disabled Self in Online Dating Profiles
Teresa Milbrodt
 
ABSTRACT: This paper examines how people with disabilities represent themselves through written and visual formats in online dating profiles. I argue that the esoteric/exoteric dynamics of disability communities are reflected in such profiles, revealing how those posting on dating websites assume different audiences will perceive of disability. Through understanding these dynamics, we are in a better position to study the folklore of disability communities, and how individuals respond to social constructions of disability and normality through their folklore. KEYWORDS: disability, esoteric, exoteric, identity, self-presentation, online dating.

Reviews

Sean Saussy, The Ethnography of Rhythm: Orality and its Technologies.
Reviewed by Katharine Young

Paschal Kyoore, Dagara Verbal Art: An African Tradition
Reviewed by Joseph L. Mbele

Jon Hackett and Seán Harrington, Beasts of the Deep: Sea Creatures and Popular Culture.
Reviewed by Samantha M. Moore

Philip Hayward, Scaled for Success: The Internationalisation of the Mermaid.
Reviewed by Loïc Lerme