More than forty years after Ronald Reagan introduced the world to "the welfare queen," stories of welfare fraud continue to shape not only our views of public assistance, poverty, and the poor, but our policies as well. Scholars in fields throughout the social sciences have provided numerous answers to why these legends persist but the explanation remains incomplete. In this talk, Dr. Mould will focus on one type of story—the personal witness narrative—an under-theorized genre that not only sheds new light on why damaging stereotypes about the poor persist in the U.S. today, but provides clear evidence in the debates of two of folklore's persistent questions about genre and narrative performance. Drawing on research in folklore, psychology, rhetoric, and communications, Dr. Mould will conclude with a discussion of effective strategies for advocating for social justice through storytelling.
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The College of Arts