Association Mission
Because OSU folklore students are located in many departments, FSA provides an opportunity for us to make connections across disciplines, enriching our community and facilitating discourse. We are committed to aiding the professional development of folklorists and others doing scholarship in folklore, ethnography, performance, and cultural studies. To this end, FSA sponsors workshops, lectures, and roundtable discussions to bring people together, addressing topics such as research methods, job opportunities, grant writing, publication in academic journals, dissertation/thesis development, community enrichment, creative projects, and conference presentations. We also host social events (often seasonal, and with delicious food.)
FSA exists to build a productive academic environment for our OSU community. We trust a spirited collectivity will emerge from this effort to energize and mobilize the resources of folklorists across the disciplines, across the campus, across the state, and across the world.
We invite all undergraduate and graduate students interested in folklore at Ohio State to become members of FSA. Please feel free to contact any of our officers regarding meeting and membership information:
To learn more about Folklore Student Association activities, subscribe to our listserv, Studentfolk.
Officers and Committee Members:
FSA Executive Committee:
- President: Zahra Abedinezhad (Comparative Studies)
- Secondary Leader: Nicholas Booker (School of Music)
- Treasurer: Brenna Miller (School of Music)
- Transition Coordinator: Emma Cobb (Comparative Studies)
Faculty Advisor: Merrill Kaplan, English
Involvement and Meetings
All graduate and undergraduate students interested in folklore are encouraged to get to know and become members of the OSU Folklore Student Association (FSA). FSA is a great way to meet others with similar interests, to learn about folklore and folklore-related activities on campus, and to support the community of folklorists at Ohio State.
FSA meets at the Center for Folklore Studies (Room 455A in Hagerty Hall) on the third Wednesday of each month. The dates and times of the meetings and events are disseminated through various channels, including via our listserv Studentfolk, and our Facebook page. Anyone interested is welcome to attend. If you are unable to come but would like to take an active interest in the Folklore Student Association, please contact one of the officers, listed above.
Joint Student Conference
Each year since 2008, the Ohio State University Folklore Student Association has collaborated with the Folklore and Ethnomusicology Student Associations to produce a joint folklore and ethnomusicology conference. In previous years, presenters have come from over fifteen different universities, including Arizona State, Ball State University, Florida Atlantic University, Northern Illinois University, UCLA, University of Missouri, University of Tennessee, Western Kentucky University, West Virginia University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Jyväskylä University in Finland, and University of Tartu in Estonia.
Undergraduate Student Symposium
The FSA periodically sponsors a Folklore Undergraduate Student Symposium which usually takes place during spring quarter. The very best folklore student papers are presenting with interesting discussion and commentary led by OSU alumni and faculty.
Dan Barnes Joke Award
Since 2006, the OSU Folklore Student Association has sponsored an annual Joke Award. The Dan Barnes Joke Award (formerly known as the Amy Shuman Joke Award), is given to the person who submits the best response to a joke prompt for that year. The winner is chosen by a popular vote among the attendees at the annual picnic. Please consider submitting your response to the prompt, especially if you plan on attending the spring barbeque.
Resources
by Sarah Craycraft, Jordan Lovejoy, and Syndey Varajon
[pdf] - Some links on this page are to .pdf files. If you need these files in a more accessible format, please contact cfs@osu.edu. PDF files require the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader software to open them. If you do not have Reader, you may use the following link to Adobe to download it for free at: Adobe Acrobat Reader.