Negotiating Identity and Belonging

Heidi Kelley, Session Chair Matt McDermott (University of North Carolina, Asheville). Casting Your Own Spell.Wicca is a neopagan religious movement that gained popularity in the mid-20th century. One of its characteristics is a lack of commitment to dogma. This lack of dogma creates an individualized practice that allows people to able to bring in their own identities and personalities into their practice to make it most suited for themselves. This individualism creates an endless possibility for people to practice the religion. This research is, therefore, meant to understand the importance of individualism within Wicca and how practitioners use individualized beliefs to bring their identities and personalities into their practice. Utilizing ethnographic interviewing with some participant observation, this research explores questions such as: how individualism is utilized at the individual and collective level, what aspects of their personal identities practitioners bring into Wicca, and how are these identities reflected into their beliefs. This project was completed throughout 2020 and the first half of 2021 and involved ten participants from Western North Carolina. Key words: Wicca, individualism, collectivism, identity, witchcraft. Amanda J. Mullennix (University of North Carolina, Asheville). An Ethnographic Study of the Influence of White Supremacy in a Presbyterian Church (USA).My undergraduate thesis research is principally based upon a year of ethnographic participant observation fieldwork on this subculture. My research paper focuses on the subcultural values of the members of this subculture- specifically on informed consent, respect for all both within and without the community, and a principles called “Hurt not harm,” which dictates that no lasting damage be inflicted. I attempt to demonstrate that these values create within the community of organized sadomasochism a sense of safety and unity. Further, I delve into their methods- exploring what they describe as “good pain” and “bad pain,” and how these different sensations relate to the forementioned values. Key words: lifestyle, pain, parasexual, play, pleasure. Alaric McDonald (University of North Carolina, Asheville). The Painseekers.My undergraduate thesis research is principally based upon a year of ethnographic participant observation fieldwork on this subculture. My research paper focuses on the subcultural values of the members of this subculture- specifically on informed consent, respect for all both within and without the community, and a principles called “Hurt not harm,” which dictates that no lasting damage be inflicted. I attempt to demonstrate that these values create within the community of organized sadomasochism a sense of safety and unity. Further, I delve into their methods- exploring what they describe as “good pain” and “bad pain,” and how these different sensations relate to the forementioned values. Key words: lifestyle, pain, parasexual, play, pleasure. Jami L. Bennett (University of Manchester). TEN BY TEN: Food, Home, and Identity Negotiation in An American Restaurant in South Korea.There is no denying the evocative power of food and its ability to serve as a tangible reminder of who we are, particularly for individuals living far from home. Working as a teacher in Asia for many years and longing for a taste of the familiar, my sister Jessica and her husband Dongseop built their own home on Jeju Island, South Korea from which they opened an American-style diner in 2018. The creation of the home and restaurant enabled Jessica to reconstruct certain aspects of her Appalachian American roots by synthesizing “here” and “home”, both through the cuisine she prepares and the material arrangements of the spaces themselves. These multiple outward expressions of her inner identity are part of a sensory experience she shares with customers who enter the restaurant. However, by building the business as an addition to their private residence, the boundaries between the commercial and the domestic spaces have become increasingly murky. Moreover, their recent appearance on a popular national television program brought curious new customers in droves along with the public spotlight. Drawing from fieldwork within the operation of this American restaurant, this essay and its accompanying ethnographic documentary film examine how identity is expressed through cuisine and the material construction of space. Furthermore, it explores how identity is negotiated and reshaped by the ever-blurring of boundaries between private and public life