September 11, 2024
MCLA Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Dr. Hannah Noel Haynes will present on
Myths & Monsters of New England this fall based on the class she taught in the spring.
The public is invited to the talk on October 3 at 7 p.m. in the Feigenbaum Center
for Science and Innovation (CSI) atrium, which will explore New England folklore,
insight into historical places, and why certain stories are repeated in human history.
“The talk will be about looking at the folklore and the history of our region in a
different way,” she said. “It will be both educational and fun.”
During the spring semester Noel Haynes taught an American Studies class about "Cryptids
and cyborgs: Bigfoot, La Llorona and the American imagination,” and was interviewed
by The Berkshire Eagle about Northern Berkshire folklore this past summer.
Noel Haynes, a cultural theorist, has a special interest in vampires and how vampirism
in Europe made it to New England. Her class also studied various sightings of bigfoot
in Berkshire County and students shared their own haunting stories. They learned about
different cultures and how folklore impacted certain areas such as Bennington and
the Bennington Triangle or stories related to North Adams and indigenous people, and
the Hoosac Tunnel being haunted from the deaths of the workers who built it.
During the spring Undergraduate Research Conference (URC), Noel Haynes presented her
own studies based on this topic and created a campfire scene with s’mores trail mix
with students sitting around the fire as a communal story telling environment. She
said the upcoming talk will likely reflect that experience.
Some of Noel Haynes’ students who took her course grew up in surrounding towns and
said they opted for the class because the subject is something they would have liked
to have seen when they were in grade school and are fascinated with local myths growing
up hearing the various stories. Noel Haynes is a Florida, Mass. native and shared
interests with her students having been told similar stories.
While the goal is not to determine if any of the folklore that Noel Haynes studies
is true or not, she focuses on why people believe them and what reflections they have
on society at a particular moment.
The 45 min talk on Oct. 3 is free and open to the public and will be followed by a
question-and-answer session.
About MCLA
At MCLA, we’re here for all — and focused on each — of our students. Classes are taught
by educators who care deeply about teaching, and about seeing their students thrive
on every level of their lives. In nearly every way possible, the experience at MCLA
is designed to elevate our students as individuals, leaders, and communicators, fully
empowered to make their impressions on the world. In addition to our 129-year commitment
to public education, we have fortified our commitment to equitable academic excellence.
MCLA has appeared on U.S. News’ list of Top Ten Public Colleges for nine consecutive
years, ranking No. 7 for Liberal Arts Schools in the nation for a third year. The
College's continued commitment to affordable education and economic prosperity is
reflected in its inclusion on U.S. News' list of National Liberal Arts Colleges for
Social Mobility since the organization adopted this ranking in 2019; MCLA is No. 1
in the state, No. 2 in the country, and No. 22 for National Liberal Arts Colleges.
These rankings measure how well schools graduate students who receive Federal Pell
Grants. Learn more at www.mcla.edu.
