Leah Lowthorp Awarded Folklore and Science Senior Prize

The Folklore and Science Senior Prize prize, awarded by the AFS Folklore and Science Section, is awarded for presentation-length papers (approximately 10 pages of text), focusing on the boundaries, intersections, and interdisciplinary exchanges between folklore and science.

The Folklore and Science Senior Prize for 2023 went to Leah Lowthorp, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Folklore, University of Oregon, for her paper, “DNA Identities: Narrative and Authority in Genetic Ancestry Performance on YouTube.” Leah’s paper demonstrated timely and original analysis of YouTube performances related to popular DNA/identity/ancestry tests. Especially, the committee was impressed by the paper’s engagement with lay perspectives of a popular science topic in the contexts of performance theory.