dition:

Screening and Discussion of
“Gracious Fanatics: The Passion for Pottery in North Carolina”

In this provocative documentary film, folklorist Tom Mould explores the phenomenon of the kiln opening, when potters sell to collectors the products of a recently fired kiln. Some of these avid collectors camp out the night before for the opportunity to get first choice of the pots. Collectors swap stories and strategies, all the while figuring out ways to outsmart their competition.

Tom Mould is assistant professor of anthropology and folklore at Elon University and coordinator of the Program for Ethnographic Research and Community Studies. He has produced numerous video documentaries on folk art and culture in Indiana, Kentucky and North Carolina. He is also the author of two books on Choctaw narrative, and has published broadly on issues of generic boundaries and constructed identities, particularly in the study of oral narrative.

Thursday, November 30, 2006   •   3:30pm
Dey Hall   •   Room 305

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Tel: (919) 962-4062 • http://www.unc.edu/depts/folklore/

Sponsored by the UNC Curriculum in Folklore