Consent Form 5
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Author Archives: Brock Paul
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Consent Form
Left Sock
Title: Left Sock
General Information about Item:
- Magic Superstition, Sympathetic
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: L.W.
- Date Collected: 11-3-2021
Informant Data:
- L.W. is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2023. He has played squash at Dartmouth all three years here. He was born in Massachusetts and is a big fan of Boston sports. He is currently studying history and would like to work in Boston after graduation.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: L.W. grew up playing squash in Massachusetts. Squash is a one versus one sport that is played on the same courts as racquetball courts. The squash is a smaller less bouncy version of a racquetball, but the sports are similar viewing experiences. Squash, on the other hand, is slower paced as the ball does not move nearly as fast or bounce as many times as a racquetball. Furthermore, squash requires a lot of mental fortitude and focus during matches.
- Social Context: On the day of a match when he was young, L.W. realized he had forgotten to bring one of his socks. Unfortunately, he was left with the decision to either play with no socks or one sock. L.W.became anxious about his performance and did not want to wear no socks for his match. L.W.’s dad then told him that he had played with one sock when he was a child and that it was his best match of the season. L.W. then decided to wear one sock on his left foot for his game.
Item:
- L.W. chooses to wear one sock on his left foot for the most important match of his season each year. When he was a child he believed he played his best match of the season the day he forgot one of his socks and attributed it to his success.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript:
- “I always wear one sock for big games. It feels different than with both socks on, but I just play better. I feel like I focus on the sock and playing well in the past and it helps me during the game.”
Informant’s Comments:
- “I don’t really believe in superstitions, but this is one that I like to keep alive. It’s probably a placebo; however, I definitely get excited for the match that I choose to wear just the one sock. It hypes the match up and having one sock is a reminder of how important it is.”
Collector’s Comments:
- I think this superstition is awesome. It has to feel a little awkward wearing just one sock, but I know a lot of people who wear no socks in their cleats, skates, or shoes. It is interesting to me his decision to pick his left foot instead of his right and his consistency of placing the sock on his left foot. I’m not sure if I would have even remembered which foot I placed it on in the first instance, let alone continued to keep it on just the left.
Collector’s Name:
- Brock Paul
- Class of 2023
- Dartmouth College
- Professors Apresyan and Gronas
Tags/Keywords:
- Sympathetic Magic
- Dartmouth College Athletics
- English
- Northeast America
- Squash
Sweatpants
Title: Sweatpants
General Information about Item:
- Magic Superstition, Sympathetic
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: D.H.
- Date Collected: 11-3-2021
Informant Data:
- D.H. is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2022. He was born in Massachusetts. During his time at Dartmouth, Daniel enjoys playing xbox and video games in general. While at home he often watches sports and would love to gamble if it wasn’t against D1 rules for athletes. He is currently studying economics and government and hopes to find a job in either of those fields after graduation.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: In sports there is always an expectation to perform. Therefore an item of clothing is often associated with a good or bad performance. If a player wears a different pair of socks than normal and performs badly, then they will often associate the poor performance with the pair of socks. For lacrosse, a lot of good older goalies he played with always wore sweatpants instead of shorts and pads on their legs. D.H. saw this as a kid and begun to wear the sweatpants instead in order play well
- Social Context: D.H. explained that his team has a large number of individual superstitions. While he picked up the sweatpants superstition from older teammates, he has found that it is a particularly rare occurrence for lacrosse goalies to wear sweatpants. He has been wearing sweatpants for around six years and does not know if he will ever stop wearing them (maybe if he has a really bad few games in a row he would consider changing).
Item:
- The sweatpants he wears are not a specific pair of sweatpants, but he always wears a set of sweatpants that represent his team. He knows that the sweatpants do not protect his legs from blocked shots in the game, but he finds them comfortable and relates them to his good performances over the years.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript:
- “Most of our team’s superstitions exist from individual standpoint rather than team actions. My superstition originates from a time where I played particularly well while trying something new from an older teammate, so I adopted a new superstition. On the other hand, if I play a bad game, I perhaps will find a new superstition. I’ve been wearing sweatpants for probably 6 years.”
Informant’s Comments:
- “I’m not sure whether it is a superstition or just a tradition I’d like to keep going, but I do know that if I went into a game without the sweats, I would be uncomfortable.”
Collector’s Comments:
- D.H.’s superstition of wearing sweatpants is really interesting to me because when I grew up playing lacrosse, I never saw a goalie wear sweatpants instead of shorts and pads. Therefore, when I originally saw D.H. wearing them during the game I assumed maybe he was cold or thought it was for style. After hearing the origin of his sweatpants, I now consider it to be a superstition and find it extremely unique.
Collector’s Name:
- Brock Paul
- Class of 2023
- Dartmouth College
- Professors Apresyan and Gronas
Tags/Keywords:
- Sympathetic Magic
- Dartmouth College Athletics
- English
- Northeast America
- Lacrosse
Bandana
Title: Bandana
General Information about Item:
- Magic Superstition, Sympathetic
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: D.R.
- Date Collected: 11-3-2021
Informant Data:
- D.R. is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2024. He was a 2023, but took a gap year due to covid. He was born in Massachusetts. During his time at Dartmouth, D.R. has played squash and enjoys philosophy. He is currently studying philosophy and economics in his sophomore year. He has not made a decision on what his plans are for after graduation. However, he has mentioned plans to see his family in France for a year or two after college.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: D.R. has played squash since a kid and has always worn a bandana during his matches. The matches are one on one matches forcing him to rely a lot on his mental fortitude. When he was younger he just wore a bandana because he liked them, but as he got older he was forced to develop his mental abilities in order to stay dialed during his matches. He then began to focus on his pregame methods and actions in order to prepare him for a match.
- Social Context: D.R.’s father often wore bandanas when D.R. would play squash with him when he was young. So he developed a desire to wear them due to his father. He began wearing them during matches. After beginning to focus on the mental aspects of his squash matches, D.R. began to fold his bandana into parallel quarters. He also began to wear the same bandana every game as he associated it with good luck.
Item:
- The bandana D.R. wears did not begin as a specific bandana, but it developed into one specific bandana that he must wear for each match. He uses the bandana and the method of folding it into parallel quarters to sharpen his focus before matches and believes it helps him stay dialed while performing.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript:
- “I always wear the same bandana when I play, and my ritual comes in the form of the folding/tying process of the bandana. I lay the bandana on my knee and fold it in half, then proceed to fold the bandana into equal parallel quarters. Focusing on the perfection of each fold helps me lock in and focus, and I’ve been doing this ritual since I was 15 years old.
Informant’s Comments:
- “I don’t really believe in superstitions, but I do believe that mental triggers can help put a person in the right mood to compete, and beliefs are a strong way to get there. In other words, I don’t believe in superstitions, but I believe that they can positively or negatively affect humans due to our psychology.”
Collector’s Comments:
- D.R.’s method of folding his bandana is particularly interesting to me. It seems to be an effective method to help him focus and is extremely unique. Wearing the same bandana makes a lot of sense to me seeing how he got it from his father (His grandfather also wore bandanas so it seems to be a trend), but the method of folding the bandana is completely his own. The emphasis he places on the folding of the bandana over the bandana itself is also inspiring as it exemplifies a routine and work ethic that D.R. has maintained for almost 6 years.
Collector’s Name:
- Brock Paul
- Class of 2023
- Dartmouth College
- Professors Apresyan and Gronas
Tags/Keywords:
- Sympathetic Magic
- Dartmouth College Athletics
- English
- Northeast America
- Squash
Green D
Title: Green D (Dartmouth D)
General Information About Item:
- Magic Superstition, homeopathic
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: R.L.
- Date Collected: 11-3-2021
Informant Data:
- R.L. is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2023. He was born in Maryland. During his time at Dartmouth, R.L. enjoys listening to music and hanging out with his team in his free time. While at home he often watches sports and spends time with his family. He has plan to work on wall street after college and is dialing in his schoolwork to achieve a quality education for his work after graduation.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: In sports there is often a logo in the center of the locker room. The logo is meant to represent the school or team and to show respect to the players that have been on the team before. The logo plays a large role in a team dynamic and provides a connection between players.
- Social Context: As a team, the Dartmouth lacrosse team has the Dartmouth D for their logo in the middle of the room. The players never step on the D and if anything touches the D then they have to kiss it as a sign of respect. The superstition seems to encourage camaraderie and unity within the team.
Item:
- The Green D is a simple logo and is not designed specifically for anyone on the team. Instead it is meant as a symbol to represent the culture built for the program. Players do not step on the D in order to respect the legacy of the program. Furthermore, it is bad luck to step on the D and not kiss it afterwards.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript:
- We never step on the D in the center of our locker room, if someone does they have to kiss it.
Informant’s Comments:
- “I enjoy superstitions and traditions as it is a way of keeping the group tied together from year to year. This is because when alums of the program come back they still know not to step on the D”
Collector’s Comments:
- I enjoy this superstition because the hockey team has the same tradition. I find it to have a unifying effect on not only the current team, but the program as a whole. Reece specifically outlined the effect the logo has on the Alumns when they come back and it seems to be a profound way to keep the respect for the program alive.
Collector’s Name:
- Brock Paul
- Class of 2023
- Dartmouth College
- Professors Apresyan and Gronas
Tags/Keywords:
- Sympathetic Magic
- Dartmouth College Athletics
- English
- Northeast America
- Lacrosse
Green Compression Shorts
General Information About Item:
- Magic Superstition, Sympathetic
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: C.H.
- Date Collected: 11-3-2021
Informant Data:
- C.H. is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2025. He was born in Indiana. During his time at Dartmouth, C.H. enjoys playing basketball in his free time. While at home he often bike’s and spends time with his family. He does not yet have plans for after Dartmouth, but he is a freshman and has time to figure it out.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: In sports there is always an expectation to perform. Therefore an item of clothing is often associated with a good or bad performance. If a player wears a different pair of socks than normal and performs badly, then they will often associate the poor performance with the pair of socks. The same association works with a good performance.
- Social Context: This specific superstition stemming from an item of clothing often occurs in sports. While the specific item is not often shared throughout athletes, many athletes have items of clothing or gear that they prefer to wear and associate with a good performance. C.H.’s specific item of clothing (green compression shorts) stemmed from a really great performance he had in the 6th grade that he associated with his “lucky compression shorts”.
Item:
- The green compression shorts can be purchased anywhere. Specifically, C.H. received his compression shorts as a gift from his father from Dick’s sporting goods. C.H.’s father wore a similar green pair of compression shorts as a kid and saw them as good luck because of the green. The compression shorts can be bought anywhere online, however he has a specific connection to the compression shorts due to his performance wearing them in the 6th grade
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript:
- “It started when I had my first really good game in lacrosse in the 6th grade. I thought what I wore must’ve been my “lucky” compressions.”
Informant’s Comments:
- “I just made it a habit after that one game in 6th grade. I really enjoy doing things the same way and having a routine so I just never switched it up.”
Collector’s Comments:
- I found this specific superstition to be particularly interesting because he does not necessarily believe in superstitions. C.H. does believe in routine and habit and chooses to do things the same way if they result in a quality performance. It seems to help him mentally and perform the way he wants to.
Collector’s Name:
- Brock Paul
- Class of 2023
- Dartmouth College
- Professors Apresyan and Gronas
Tags/Keywords:
- Sympathetic Magic
- Dartmouth College Athletics
- English
- Midwest America
- Lacrosse