Graham Kash has taught literature, composition, folklore and speech at Tennessee Tech since 1963. He is best known for coaching the speech and debate team, which win approximately 100 awards every year.
What differences have you noticed between today and when you started teaching?
“We have more students, teachers and programs, but what I’m doing now is largely what I did when I came here. Originally, I was teaching composition and American literature. There was a need for me to do some teaching of speech, including coaching of the speech team. I spend most of my time now teaching speech.”
Herman Pinkerton, a history and political science professor, formed the speech team in 1930. Kash started coaching in 1986. Today, at least a dozen students participate in tournaments across the Southeast.
How has the team grown in your time at Tech?
“We’re fortunate now that we have three official coaches: myself, my wife Bettye Kash, and (speech instructor) Jacob Metz. That means they take the responsibility of traveling, teaching and coaching all students who participate in debate. Some of the most talented, dedicated and versatile students I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with have studied speech and debate.”
Can you talk more about the various awards that Tech has won for speech and debate?
“I never have kept an organized list of awards. There are a great many of them. Last year we won 105 awards. Of course, we’re never satisfied. We want to win more. We certainly have merit and recognition, but we can always go for more. Some of the leading teams in this region are Belmont in Nashville, Carson-Newman in Jefferson City and Western Kentucky.”
Kash has studied, taught and conducted extensive research on the topic of folklore. He plays the harmonica and knows a repertoire of traditional folk songs. The University of Tennessee Press has published his research on music in Overton County.
What does one study with a degree in folklore?
“Folklore overlaps with many different subjects: English, history, sociology and anthropology. What we do in folklore is to study some traditional material, such as old-time songs or stories. In many ways, it is an analysis of tradition. Of course, literature and music leaves a strong influence on tradition. When I was at Indiana, most of the folklore professors had joint appointments with another department.”
What has your work focused on?
“Most of my work concerns folk music. I wrote my dissertation on numerous folk ballads in the United States. Some of them originated here, but most of them did not. Most originated across the ocean – England, Scotland and Ireland – and came over here. About two-thirds came from across the ocean, and the rest here.”