This project focuses its discussion within the discipline of folklore by identifying Wattpad.com as a contemporary medium of online folkloric content. Wattpad provides its users with a text-based—and sometimes multimodal—means of communication via its interface that mimics traditional communication as we know it—a means founded in orality, literacy, and the archive. Wattpad users are creating new folktales that are nuanced with elements from Wattpad’s archive, which characterizes contemporary online folklore in a way that has not been fully explored. This project serves to identify the past and present discourses that inform such a discussion while also explaining the intricacies of Wattpad’s interface and user interactions. By studying and exploring such spaces, folklorists may better understand how folklore will continue to evolve into the future.
","abstract_html":"<p>This project focuses its discussion within the discipline of folklore by identifying Wattpad.com as a contemporary medium of online folkloric content. Wattpad provides its users with a text-based—and sometimes multimodal—means of communication via its interface that mimics traditional communication as we know it—a means founded in orality, literacy, and the archive. Wattpad users are creating new folktales that are nuanced with elements from Wattpad’s archive, which characterizes contemporary online folklore in a way that has not been fully explored. This project serves to identify the past and present discourses that inform such a discussion while also explaining the intricacies of Wattpad’s interface and user interactions. By studying and exploring such spaces, folklorists may better understand how folklore will continue to evolve into the future. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Helton, Alisha Tess"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"English and Theatre","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:00Z","subjects":["Archive","Contemporary Folklore","Fandom","Online Folklore","Online Identity","Wattpad","Communication Technology and New Media","Digital Humanities","Folklore"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2022 Alisha Tess Helton"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/728","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Helton, Alisha Tess"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English and Theatre"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Archive","Contemporary Folklore","Fandom","Online Folklore","Online Identity","Wattpad","Communication Technology and New Media","Digital Humanities","Folklore"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2022 Alisha Tess Helton"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/728"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This project focuses its discussion within the discipline of folklore by identifying Wattpad.com as a contemporary medium of online folkloric content. Wattpad provides its users with a text-based—and sometimes multimodal—means of communication via its interface that mimics traditional communication as we know it—a means founded in orality, literacy, and the archive. Wattpad users are creating new folktales that are nuanced with elements from Wattpad’s archive, which characterizes contemporary online folklore in a way that has not been fully explored. This project serves to identify the past and present discourses that inform such a discussion while also explaining the intricacies of Wattpad’s interface and user interactions. By studying and exploring such spaces, folklorists may better understand how folklore will continue to evolve into the future.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/PDF"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Wattpad as an Online Medium for Contemporary Folklore"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Helton, Alisha Tess"],"dc:description.abstract":["This project focuses its discussion within the discipline of folklore by identifying Wattpad.com as a contemporary medium of online folkloric content. Wattpad provides its users with a text-based—and sometimes multimodal—means of communication via its interface that mimics traditional communication as we know it—a means founded in orality, literacy, and the archive. Wattpad users are creating new folktales that are nuanced with elements from Wattpad’s archive, which characterizes contemporary online folklore in a way that has not been fully explored. This project serves to identify the past and present discourses that inform such a discussion while also explaining the intricacies of Wattpad’s interface and user interactions. By studying and exploring such spaces, folklorists may better understand how folklore will continue to evolve into the future.
"],"dc:format":["application/PDF"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/728"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2022 Alisha Tess Helton"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Archive","Contemporary Folklore","Fandom","Online Folklore","Online Identity","Wattpad","Communication Technology and New Media","Digital Humanities","Folklore"],"dc:title":["Wattpad as an Online Medium for Contemporary Folklore"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English and Theatre"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:00Z"}