Here you'll find selection of papers and projects from the Student Ethnographic Projects collection.
Rick Mullen: The Local Character of Mullen Folklore
Emma C. Mullen
In this 2019 project, Emma Mullen explores the stories and anecdotes that circulate within the Mullen clan about her grandfather, Rick Mullen, whom she describes as her family's "main man." Emma argues that telling such comedic anecdotes allows family members "to bond through knowledge and laugher, while simultaneously allowing the family to understand a person’s best and worst characteristics that make he or she a unique member of the group."
Mischief, Mayhem, and Masculinity in the Military
Eileen M. Wassel
Both of Wassel's parents served in the US Navy, as have other members of her family, and she grew up hearing stories about life at sea. For this paper, which she wrote in 2019, she interviewed her father. She writes that when she now reheard the stories she'd first been told as a child, "they were no longer fantastical tales of adult life, but glimpses of the desperate social needs of humans in extreme circumstances and how those play out through pranks, storytelling, and tradition".
The D-I-Y Music Scene in Columbus, Ohio
Lance Westrick
In this paper, Westrick explores aspects of the DIY punk music scene in Columbus and the community which has coalesced around it. One of his areas of focus is the emphasis placed within the community on making itself inclusive and accessible for marginalized groups.
OSU's Off-The-Lake Productions and OTLove
Ana Sucaldito
Off-the-Lake Productions - more commonly known as OTL - is Ohio State’s only student-controlled, service-based theatre group. In this 2017 paper, Sucaldito explores its unique characteristic known as OTLove. As Sucaldito explains, OTLove is comprised of multiple traditions which together aim at promoting "a welcoming, close, and supportive community" within the group.