Join us on a storytelling and place-making adventure across the West with folklorist Sheila Bock as we play through part of Where the Water Tastes Like Wine. We will learn about Sheila’s work and research as a folklorist, narrative culture and vernacular beliefs, and her new book Claiming Space: Performing the Personal through Decorated Mortarboards (University Press of Colorado, 2023).

Sheila Bock is Associate Professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her academic training is in Folklore Studies, an interdisciplinary field that examines vernacular beliefs and practices, the dynamics of tradition, and the aesthetics of daily life. In her work, she seeks to take seriously the expressive power of the seemingly "trivial" things people say, make, and do. Her recent book Claiming Space: Performing the Personal through Decorated Mortarboards (University Press of Colorado, 2023) grows out of this work. 

Humanities at Play explores and showcases the significance of the humanities in everyday life through games, media, and popular culture. Join us for dynamic and interactive online and in-person events designed to spark thoughtful conversation and reflection. Learn more at nevadahumanities.org/humanities-at-play.