Claiming Space: The Aesthetics and Politics of Decorated Mortarboards

April 11, 2025

4:00PM - 5:00PM

TBD

2025-04-11 16:00:00 2025-04-11 17:00:00 Claiming Space: The Aesthetics and Politics of Decorated Mortarboards This talk by OSU Folklore Alumni Dr. Sheila Bock focuses on a genre of folk art that features prominently in the visual landscape of many commencement ceremonies on college campuses. Taking mortarboard displays seriously as public performances of the personal, Bock considers how the forms and meanings of these material displays take shape in relation to broader, ongoing conversations about higher education in the United States, conversations grounded in discourses of belonging, citizenship and the promises of the American Dream.Sheila Bock received her graduate training as a folklorist at the Ohio State University, earning her MA in Comparative Studies and her PhD in English. She is now Associate Professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  She is author of numerous articles and book chapters and the book Claiming Space: Performing the Personal through Decorated Mortarboards (University Press of Colorado, 2023). She is an award winning teacher, and she serves as co-editor (with fellow Ohio State alum Elo-Hanna Seljamaa) of the journal Narrative Culture.This event is free and open to the public. Hosted by the Center for Folklore Studies and the Humanities Institute. The Humanities Institute and its related centers host a wide range of events, from intense discussions of works in progress to cutting-edge presentations from world-known scholars, artists, activists and everything in between.We value in-person engagement at our events as we strive to amplify the energy in the room. To submit an accommodation request, please send your request to Cody Childs, childs.97@osu.edu. TBD America/New_York public

A graduating student wearing a green, white, red, and black mortarboard cap that says, "Si se puede; Here to stay"

A graduating student wearing a mortarboard cap with Patrick Star from the TV series Spongebob dressed in collared shirt with tie and holding three one dollar bills

A graduating student wearing a mortarboard cap decorated with flowers and butterflies that says, "dreams biger than borders; Class of 2019"

A graduating student wearing a mortarboard cap. In the center, it says "This is BIGGER than me." There are two girls reaching out toward each other from two corners of the bortarboard. The two girls are wearing shirts that say, "Black girl magic" and "I matter." Around the edges of the mortarboar, there is a butterfly and text that reads, "Beautifully flawed," "Women's gender and sexuality studies," "Early and middle childhood studies," "B.S.," and "Kines."

This talk by OSU Folklore Alumni Dr. Sheila Bock focuses on a genre of folk art that features prominently in the visual landscape of many commencement ceremonies on college campuses. Taking mortarboard displays seriously as public performances of the personal, Bock considers how the forms and meanings of these material displays take shape in relation to broader, ongoing conversations about higher education in the United States, conversations grounded in discourses of belonging, citizenship and the promises of the American Dream.

Sheila Bock received her graduate training as a folklorist at the Ohio State University, earning her MA in Comparative Studies and her PhD in English. She is now Associate Professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is author of numerous articles and book chapters and the book Claiming Space: Performing the Personal through Decorated Mortarboards (University Press of Colorado, 2023). She is an award winning teacher, and she serves as co-editor (with fellow Ohio State alum Elo-Hanna Seljamaa) of the journal Narrative Culture.

This event is free and open to the public. Hosted by the Center for Folklore Studies and the Humanities Institute.

The Humanities Institute and its related centers host a wide range of events, from intense discussions of works in progress to cutting-edge presentations from world-known scholars, artists, activists and everything in between.

We value in-person engagement at our events as we strive to amplify the energy in the room. To submit an accommodation request, please send your request to Cody Childs, childs.97@osu.edu.