Folklorist Rachel Hopkin wins the first place award in the Radio Outstanding Feature category of the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists Pro Chapter's 2025 Awards for her podcast episode.
Folklorists in the News
AFS congratulates Neil Rosenberg—a Fellow and longtime member of the Society—on winning the 2025 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Liner Notes of the Year.
The latest novella by literary scholar and author Jack Zipes reflects his belief that the world’s conditions have deteriorated for many, particularly the young. It is a hopeful tale of resistance and defiance, intended for his grandchildren and anyone who believes in standing up against oppression.
An interview of folklorist Anna Lomax Wood about her experiences researching the musical traditions of Italian immigrants, among other topics, is featured on Italian American Collective.
AFS congratulates Dr. Pravina Shukla on receiving the 2025 College of Arts and Sciences James P. Holland and Morley Distinguished Teaching Award from Indiana University.
In recognition of his tireless advocacy for folklore and understanding the human experience, pioneering ethnologist Professor Henry Glassie has received an honorary degree from University College Dublin.
Academic and musician Ellen Stekert releases her first independent album, Go Around Songs, Vol. 1, on March 28, 2025. Stekert is a contemporary of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Dave Van Ronk but eventually chose to pursue academia. She is professor emerita of English and American Studies at the University of Minnesota and served as President of the AFS in 1976–77.
Each month, the African American Folklorist honors individuals dedicated to preserving and advancing Black folklore, oral traditions, and Blues culture. This March, they recognize Dr. Anika Wilson for her groundbreaking work on informal narratives—gossip, rumor, and storytelling as cultural expression.
Emily Hilliard is a folklorist, writer, and media producer based at Berea College in Kentucky. In 2021, she received an Archie Green Fellowship to document U.S. mail carriers in Central Appalachia as part of the American Folklife Center’s Occupational Folklife Project. With insights gained from this project, Hilliard published an article on the Jacobin magazine, arguing that "USPS privatization would cost rural America more than mail."
Dr. Maribel Alvarez converses with Folk music educator and performer Eugene Rodriguez, who founded Los Cenzontles, a youth music group, in 1989 in San Pablo, California, about the joys and challenges of folklore-based education and identity politics.