Current Student Bios

Dorothy Bayern is interested in the way people relate to other times and societies through costume, particularly the current and potential applications of historical and ethnic clothing as learning tools in museum exhibits, educational programming, and cultural events. She has a BA in Anthropology from the University of Oregon and is the Exhibitions Coordinator at the U of O Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

Al Bersch studies vernacular photography, alternative documentary practices, and resource extraction industries. His work includes a project about commercial fishing in Oregon, a collaborative documentary about logging and forestry in Southeastern British Columbia, and the foundation of Grotto Gallerie, a free-floating artist space. He received a BFA in photography from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Vincent Bisson received his B.A. in the humanities from the Florida Institute of Technology. His interest in moving images and history has led him to investigate popular culture, history, and audiences. His intended thesis project will blend perspectives from folklore, popular culture, and history in order to investigate audience lore as well as the relationship between audiences and historical films.

Kristen Gallerneaux Brooks recently finished her MFA in Art at Wayne State University (Detroit, MI), where she established The Revenant Archives , an ongoing project concerning the visual evidence and research of the supernatural. Within this framework she presents folklore research that looks like art. Her current areas of interest include: ghost tourism, paranormal societies, obsolete devices and ephemera related to the latter, byproducts of belief in society, and archives. She spent a summer researching poltergeists at the American Society for Psychical Research, and hopes to return soon.

Tiffany A. Christian earned her BA in English literature and creative writing from Pacific University, and she holds an MFA in creative writing from Chapman University. Her research interests include apocalypse (primarily post-apocalypse) studies, cyber studies, popular culture and film in an American context. Tiffany is also a vocalist and songwriter, and she can claim "world musics" among her myriad interests. Currently, Tiffany is working on ideas for film projects involving karaoke performance and local disaster preparedness groups.

Robert Dobler is a Master's student with a B.A. in English from Penn State. He has studied Spiritualism, Internet communication with the dead, Neo-Circus and Freak Show movements, bohemianism, antinomianism, graffiti, the religious comic tracts of Jack Chick, and roadside attractions.

Nathan Georgitis is a Librarian at the University of Oregon. He earned a B.A. in Literature at Brown University, studying oral epic poetry, and a M.L.S. from Simmons College. Nathan’s interests include archives management and audio preservation; folklore and public media and personal experience narratives; and canoeing and boatbuilding traditions.

Ashley Gossman is in post-production of a film about empowering African women artists and improving relationships between the artists and volunteers from an NGO. She studies Folklore, Cultural Anthropology, Journalism and Swahili and received her B.A. in Cultural and Visual Anthropology from the University of Florida.

Mira Johnson received her B.A. in The Great Books from St. John's College, Annapolis, MD. A second year Master's student, she is combining Folklore, English and Anthropology studies to investigate the relationship between spirituality and place, particularly natural environments. Her intended thesis project will focus on the Catholic mountain pilgrimage site of Croagh Patrick in County Mayo, Ireland, and an emergent nature pilgrimage in Prescott, AZ.

Jesse LeRoy Mabus is a Master's student working with the Deptartments of Folklore, Anthropology and Religious Studies. He is currently on leave working with Clatsop Community College library in Astoria, OR and studying Spanish. His previous work has focused on calendrical events in Olympia, Washington, the WTO protests in Seattle, the current Anti-War protests, as well as the Neo-Pagan tradition of Reclaiming.

Caroline Louise McNabb is a second-year Master's student focusing on Mexican and Mexican-American women's narratives. She is particularly interested in female mythic and legendary characters, and is exploring negotiations of power, cultural heritage and identity. Caroline spent the summer pursuing research in Oaxaca, Mexico, and plans to finish her research in Eugene, OR this year. In her spare time, Caroline enjoys removing bones from road kill and painting them.

Robb Norton is a Eugene native whose primary research interests include new media and digital culture. He has studied documentary filmmaking and cultural studies in England, as well as Japanese language and culture in Japan. He was one of the filmmakers of the award-winning feature film Pizza Girl produced right here in Eugene.

Suzanne Reed is a Masters student working in the Folklore, Arts Administration and Art departments. She was an employee of the Washington State Arts Commission's Folk and Traditional Arts program for three years. Suzanne has worked with traditional artists in residence at the University of Oregon documenting their work and creating materials for their use. She is currently working with the Eugene, OR figure skating community documenting their lengthy history in the area, and their living legacy of coach/apprentice/student training that has spanned generations in Eugene. She has a B.A. in Fine Art and Craft from the Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA.

Sarah Sandri is in her first year of the Master's program working in the Folklore, Anthropology and Ethnomusicology departments. She studies performativity and race, focusing on the representation and reception of African dance in the U.S. and the collision of postmodern irony and images of the raced body. She received a B.A. in Comparative Literature in English & French from Smith College.

Erin Swartz is in her first year of the Masters program, studying Folklore, English, and Arts and Administration. In the past she has done work on gender performance in MTV's "Jackass," internet communities, "lolcats," and apocalyptic beliefs. She hopes to put together a terminal project which analyzes gender performance, racial tension, and tradition at the Pendleton Round-Up, which will celebrate its 100th year in 2010.

Kevin Taylor is a Master's student.  He received his B.A. from the University of Oregon in Philosophy and Religious Studies.  His areas of focus within Folklore are Religious Studies and Arts and Administration.  Current research interests include new religious movements, apocalyptic eschatology, and prophetic tradition.

Jenée Wilde is in the English Ph.D. program with a structured emphasis in Folklore. Her research interests include contemporary American literature and popular culture, sexual identity and representation, sexual subcultures, fairy tales, and queer theory. Her essay titled "Queer Matters in The Dark Knight Returns, Or Why We Insist on a Sexual Identity for Batman" will be published in the forthcoming book, Batman Meets the Academy. She also has presented the essay at the 2009 Popular Culture Association national conference and at the University of Oregon's Understanding Superheroes conference. She has an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Goddard College and a BA in English and Journalism from Boise State University.

Rosemary Woodward received a B.A. in Music at the University of Oregon in 2008, and is now a first year Master's student focusing on Folklore, Ethnomusicology, and Anthropology. Her interests include healing through music, herbal and plant-based medicine, female archetypes such as the green witch, the goddess and the crone, and food traditions in the various cultures throughout the world.

Shelise Zumwalt is a first year Master’s student with a B.A. in Religious Studies, and an Undergraduate Certificate in Folklore from the University of Oregon. Her areas of focus include Folklore, Arts and Administration, and Anthropology. She is interested in Public Folklore.