Joelle E. Jackson Receives 2025 Barbro Klein Prize

The Nordic-Baltic Section of the American Folklore Society congratulates Joelle E. Jackson (University College Dublin) on winning the 2025 Barbro Klein Prize for her essay, “With My Own Roots: Estonian Tradition-Bearing and Identity in Ireland.” This prize is given to a student for an outstanding conference paper, article-length essay, or research-based media production on a folklore topic having to do with Northern Europe and/or the diasporas of its various peoples.

The prize committee found that Joelle’s weaving of ethnography about Estonian folk practice in the homeland and in the European diaspora particularly compelling. They also felt that the current study would be an excellent foundation for a larger project and concluded that Joelle has written an impressive and data-driven ethnography which directly engages with and builds off the work of Barbro Klein.