Recipient of Elon University's 2013-14 Distinguished Scholar Award, Associate Professor Tom Mould - one of the nation's leading experts on folklore - will share insights into the way we tell stories about our lives during Tuesday evening's Distinguished Scholar Award Lecture in LaRose Digital Theatre.
TUESDAY, APRIL 15
Tom Mould, “The Art and Artifice of the Tales We Tell”
LaRose Digital Theatre, Koury Business Center, 6:30 p.m.
Elon University Distinguished Scholar Award Lecture
It is an old trope to say that the stories we tell create the past rather than describe it. But what does that creative process look like? And how does the act of sharing stories about our lives transform the very experiences we purport to describe?
Drawing upon his studies of the oral traditions of the Choctaw Indians, the personal revelation narratives of Latter-day Saints, and the welfare legends of Alamance County residents, Associate Professor Tom Mould challenges many of the assumptions we make about the stories we tell and argues for the power of a type of story so universal and so pervasive that it has been all but ignored.
A prolific author, Mould has written three books and edited two, including two on Mormon folklore and two on the Choctaw. He has published numerous journal articles, book chapters, encyclopedia entries and book reviews on folklore and oral traditions. In addition, he has produced three video documentaries and given more than 20 peer-reviewed or invited conference presentations.
Mould started his career at Elon in 2001 as an assistant professor of English, sociology and anthropology. For the past 10 years, he has been an associate professor of anthropology teaching courses in anthropology, folklore, ethnography, general studies, interdisciplinary studies and literary journalism.
Since 2003, Mould has developed the Program for Ethnographic Research and Community Studies and serves as its director.