Advancing Folkloristics

Jesse A. Fivecoate is a doctoral candidate in folklore at Indiana University, Bloomington. In 2018, he received the Dorson Dissertation Prize from the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology. Kristina Downs is Managing Editor of the Journal of Folklore Research. She is also creator and host of the Crimelore podcast. Meredith A. E. McGriff is Membership Director of the American Folklore Society and co-founder of Hoosier Films. She is author of The Michiana Potters: Art, Community, and Collaboration in the Midwest.

• Foreword: Challenges and Possibilities across Boundaries, by Margaret A. MillsAcknowledgmentsEnvisioning a Future Folkloristics, by Jesse A. Fivecoate, Kristina Downs, and Meredith A. E. McGriff1. Deep Folklore/Queer Folkloristics, by Kay Turner 2. "An Epidemic of Meanings": The Tenuous Nature of Public Intellectualism, Reflexivity, and Belief Scholarship, by Andrea Kitta3. Expanding the Territory, by Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby 4. The Politics of Trivialization, by Jesse A. Fivecoate, Kristina Downs, and Meredith A. E. McGriff5. The Folklorization of Queer Theory: Public Spaces, Pride, and Gay Neoliberalism, by Cory W. Thorne and Guillermo De Los Reyes6. Yemayá's Fury: Residual Flows, Ecological Disaster, and Folklore Futures, by Solimar Otero 7. Infusing Public Folklore Work into Academe: Experiencing the In-Between, by Gregory Hansen 8. Folklorists as Curators: Exploring the Four Cs, by Betty J. Belanus 9. Culturally Conscious Collaborations at the Nexus of Folklore, Education, and Social Justice: Lessons and Questions for Folkloristic Praxis, by Phyllis M. May-Machunda 10. The Power of Folkloristics at the Intersection of Affect, Narrative, and Performance in the College Classroom, by Anthony Guest-Scott 11. The Folkloristic Diaspora: On Being a Folklorist in a Black Studies Department, by Anika Wilson 12. Standing with Others: Folklorists in the Midst of Home, by Wanda G. Addison 13. Disruptive Folklore, Debra Lattanzi Shutika 14. Talking Folklore: Getting Others to Take the Discipline Seriously while Remaining a Serious Folklorist, by Andrea Kitta, Lynne S. McNeill, and Trevor J. BlankAfterword: Advancing Folkloristics, by Norma E. Cantú Index

This ambitious volume repositions the field of folklore in the context of numerous emerging perspectives including queer theory, intersectionality, feminism, (de)colonization, and anti-racism. . . . This dizzying array of topics reveals the complexities of folkloristics and the considerable intellectual and ethical affordances of working in a transdisciplinary manner to highlight the meaning-making processes of vernacular culture(s) and their practitioners. The end of this foray is hardly an end at all, but rather a road map for the future of the discipline.- T. R. Tangherlini (Choice) Inspired by presentations and discussions at the 2017Future of American Folkloristics Conference held at Indiana University, the essays in this collection discussand, in some cases, illustrate ways to build a strongpath forward for the discipline and those who are (orare studying to be) practicing folklorists in public and academic contexts. . . . Overall, the collection will be thought-provoking for practicing folklorists, as well asthose teaching and training aspiring folklorists.- Martha Sims (Journal of Folklore and Education) Advancing Folkloristics arrives at a pivotal moment for the intersecting trajectories of our field and the United States. Championing and modeling our profession's highest aspirations and best work in a time of mingled peril and promise, its arrival is welcome.- James P. Leary - University of Wisconsin–Madison (Journal of American Folklore)