ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role culture plays in creating and maintaining community, from the oral traditions of old to novels and movies to social media today. The first section demonstrates how pop culture functions as a means of socialization and connection within communities using concepts from scholars like John Dewey and Manuel Castells. It draws upon examples such as Greek tragedy, the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, and the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements. The second section uses these frameworks to explore how the African-American folkloric tradition has historically helped sustain the Black community in the United States. The section specifically engages with stories such as the Ibo Landing Myth and the tales of Br'er Rabbit, as well as film adaptations of African-American folklores like Song of the South (1946) and Daughters of the Dust (1991). The third section describes an activity called the Community Collaboration Curation (or C3), in which participants create a web-based project curating contributions collected from their social networks. The activity encourages participants to explore the possibilities of social media and the Internet for creative collaboration while also seeking to learn something new about their community.
