"That nice gorgeous cusp" : social stratification in contemporary Newfoundland rug-hooking

Abstract

This is a study of hooked rugs and their makers in contemporary Newfoundland. Rug-hooking symbolizes a culturally "pure" and sometimes glorified past where the ancestors of today's island population worked with their hands and used the materials and the land (and sea) that was available to them. Today, women are using the traditional rug-hooking method as a means of artistic expression, as a leisure activity, and in an effort to earn income following the collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery. This thesis explores how each of these categories influences the subject, style and media of the rugs, and how social stratification and self-identification manifests within the faction of women who practice rug-hooking.