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Using your sources
Now that you’ve found at least one source for your paper, you can think about incorporating the information into your own research.
Author(s): Luanne K. Roth
Title: DANCING SKELETONS: The Subversion of Death Among Deadhe
Publication: Death and Humor in Folklore and Popular Culture
Author: Peter Narvaez
Year: 2003
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Summarize They say… |
In a sentence, tell your reader what your source says about your topic. |
Deadheads, through the subversion of death and the creation of artifacts such as the dancing skeletons, show how this subculture is not just a bunch of washed-out hippies but also a thriving group of people who bring many cultures together to construct a narrative on the Grateful Dead(Roth, 2003). |
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Paraphrase Their point is… |
Find the main idea of your source and tell your reader what it is in your own words. |
Due to the changing of their favorite band name from the Warlocks to the Grateful Dead, Deadheads have, to look for a reason for the new name of the band, begun to subvert death through blending cultures like Egyptian and Tibetan. This blending of cultures by deadheads has led to various cultural artifacts coming out, such as the art of the dancing skeletons from Tibetan mythology(Roth, 2003). |
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Quote In their own words… |
Find a key sentence in your source that’s written so well, you wouldn’t want to paraphrase it. |
“Deadheads are essentially ‘laughing in the face of death or, more precisely, obliterating conventional conceptions of mortality.’ The dancing skeletons, which fit perfectly into the Deadhead carnivalesque environment and “rituals of transformation,” represent, on a very profound level, the “triumph of enlightenment over death” (Roth, 2003, p. 293) |
Now that you’ve extracted relevant information from your source, you need to let your reader know why you’re using it. Show your understanding of both the source and your topic by considering the following:
Which part of your idea is this source supporting? How does it support your idea?
This source supports my idea that deadheads are not just hippies who do drugs, as the public perceives them but are instead a complicated, vibrant subculture that do rituals. This source gives examples of the art this subculture creates, like the dancing skeletons, which is an art staple for Grateful Dead shows, and the culture it borrows from places as diverse as Tibet and Egypt. For example, it borrowed the dancing skeletons from Tibetan mythology. This artwork and cultural borrowing indicate that once one goes beyond the surface for the Deadhead subculture, one sees more than just drugs and hippies; one sees a unique art and a lifestyle, similar to many “respectable” subcultures around the world such as “goth” or “gamer.”
Don’t forget that you must cite your sources. Create a citation for your source in APA style:
Roth, L. K. (2003). DANCING SKELETONS: The Subversion of Death Among Deadheads. In P. Narvaez, Of Corpse: Death and Humor in Folkore and Popular Culture (pp. 263–293). Utah State University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt46nsgh.14
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