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Folklore is often positioned at the center of critical social issues. While folklorists have acknowledged this power and explored how folklore has been used for political ends, far less attention has been paid to the role folklorists and folklore scholarship can play in addressing contemporary social issues in public discourse. Folklore in the Public Square explores how folklorists apply their research to engage general audiences and address the challenging issues we face daily.
Folklore in the Public Square brings together folklorists working in the humanities and the social sciences committed to applying their research to help solve contemporary social challenges, formalizing an undercurrent of thought that has gained growing attention. Case studies apply ethical research to address pervasive questions about the environment, poverty, health and healthcare, political partisanship, war, tourism, stigma, racism, and conspiracy theories, among others. Building on conversations raised by folklorists who have contributed to public programming or conducted collaborative research in local communities, this book appeals to anyone interested in contemporary social issues, applied research, or collaborative and ethical fieldwork.
“A valuable contribution to the field of folklore/folklife studies, as well as to any/all disciplines and practical endeavors that deal with multiculturalism, human inequality and exploitation, policy formulation and analysis, and the like. It points, by example, to new and important interdisciplinary collaborations to further and accomplish humanitarian ends.”
—Bonnie B. O’Connor, Professor Emerita, Brown University
“This volume opens up opportunities for important conversations in the classroom and in the field at large. It provides honest engagement with not only the rewards of applied and advocacy work but also the very real challenges, and at times dangers, this work can bring. It shows how folklorists’ work in the public square is far from simple or glamorous, but it is undoubtedly worthwhile and, indeed, necessary for the world we live in.”
—Sheila Bock, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Tom Mould is professor of anthropology and folklore at Rollins College. He has authored, coauthored, or coedited nine books, including Overthrowing the Queen: Telling Stories of Welfare in America (2020), which won the Chicago Folklore Prize and the Brian McConnell Book Award. He has engaged in public scholarship through his ethnographic videos for local PBS stations that examine folk art and culture in Indiana, Kentucky, and North Carolina, as well as through museum exhibits and public talks.
Andrea Kitta is a folklorist and professor at East Carolina University. Dr. Kitta is the recipient of the Bertie E. Fearing Award for Excellence in Teaching (2010–2011) and has also received a Teacher/Scholar award from ECU (2015–2016) and the Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award (2018–2019). Her book Vaccinations and Public Concern in History won the Brian McConnell Book Award in 2012, and The Kiss of Death won the Chicago Folklore Prize and Brian McConnell Book Award in 2020.