Bluegrass and 'white trash': A case study concerning the name 'folklore' and class bias (US, Southeast)

Many have questioned whether the word "folklore" accurately describes the a spects of culture that are studied by contemporary folklorists; these recen t critiques form the backdrop of this article. Part of this name debate eme rged from concerns about the negative effects of "folklore" stereotypes on the scholarly and professional field. Clearly, the word "folklore" can conj ure stereotypical and class-biased images for some who hear the term. This attitude-spoken or unspoken-is problematic; it is uninformed about the tota l realities of the field, and it is rooted in cultural elitism. However, we argue that this problem can be addressed, in part, by acknowled ging that some folklorists do study just the kinds of things that other fol klorists may try to distance themselves from. We ask, "What is so horrible about being associated with these particular things, especially if folklori sts can make a good case for studying them?" We examine Doug Ender's experi ence as a member of particularly stereotyped "folk" group: a not-so-good bl uegrass band. We do this to demonstrate that while the term "folklore" can bring out stereotypes and biases, it also provides folklorists a chance to engage in a dialogue that explores and challenges these biases and assumpti ons. Indeed, we are concerned that if folklorists change the name of the fi eld in part because of the biases they fear the name evokes, they are capit ulating to those very biases.