Degree Name

MA (Master of Arts)

Program

Appalachian Studies

Date of Award

12-2018

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Ron Roach

Committee Members

Lee Bidgood, Ted Olson

Abstract

This is an ethnographic case study of a musical community in Catalonia centered around the performance of bluegrass and old-time music. By using Victor and Edith Turners’ ideas of normative communitas, this paper identifies an aesthetic communitas model which describes a community centered around a performative genre. Through participant observation in the 16th Annual Al Ras Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival and interviews with local musicians, fans, venue owners, and luthiers, the ethnographic narrative details the characteristics of the aesthetic communitas in Catalonia and searches for associations of Appalachia that accompany the cross-cultural manifestation of bluegrass and old-time music in Catalonia. The conclusion examines the significance of the aesthetic communitas model and suggests further lines of research for this model.

Document Type

Thesis - unrestricted

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

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