Tom Mould elected to the executive board of the American Folklore Society

Professor of Anthropology Tom Mould will serve a three-year term on the executive board of the national society.

Tom Mould, J. Earl Danieley Professor and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, has been elected to serve on the executive board of the American Folklore Society, the top disciplinary association in folklore studies in the United States with membership that spans the globe.

The American Folklore Society, founded in 1888, is an organization that connects and supports people and institutions that study folklore. Their members consist of teachers, scholars, arts administrators, fieldworkers, and people working formally and informally in arts and cultural organizations. They hold an annual meeting every October, which brings in almost a thousand folklorists from around the world, and they collaborate with international organizations on different projects. The organization supports research and publishes several journals including one of the oldest folklore journals, the .

As a professor of anthropology, Mould teaches courses in anthropology, folklore, general studies and literary journalism. He has written two books on Choctaw Native American folklore, one on Mormon folklore, and has a book coming out next year on stories of public assistance. Mould says that the American Folklore Society as a group of folklorists is important to his studies.

“Having a national organization where we can gather and share ideas and share research is crucial to the work I do,” Mould says.

While serving his term, Mould will be aiding in strategic planning for the future of the organization. “I get to help develop the next 10 years which is exciting,” Mould says.

While on the board, Mould hopes to reinstate the Media and Public Information Committee of the American Folklore Society, which had been once been a standing committee. “I believe we need to think more aggressively on how we can get our research out into the public marketplace,” Mould says.\

Mould will serve on the executive board from 2019 through the end of 2021. Executive positions on the board rotate, with three new people elected to the board each year.