On November 12 and 13, 2021, the Folklore Society of Utah held its annual meeting at the Eccles Conference Center on USU’s Logan campus. The USU Folklore program made a great showing, as students, faculty, and alums all presented. Student presenters included Zackary Gregory, Millie Tullis, Emma Crisp, John Priegnitz, Taylor Wyatt, Alex Ziegler, Steven Merrell, and Danny Stewart. Congratulations to all for wonderful papers! For several of our students, this was their first academic conference.
Faculty made a great showing as well. Assistant Professor Afsane Rezaei gave the keynote address entitled “Vernacular Islam in Tehrangeles: Women’s Rituals and Ethnographic Dilemmas,” in which she highlighted her research on the multivocality and multi-centeredness of an Islamic women’s ritual in Los Angeles, and she also talked about the difficulties of the fieldwork encounter.
Professor Jeannie Thomas and Assistant Professor Lisa Gabbert presented together on a panel about fieldwork and documentation. Jeannie wowed everyone with her photography skills, showcasing fieldwork in Cajun country, while Lisa presented on stories of suffering that she elicited from physicians about their work. USU Special Collections and Archives faculty, Terri Jordan presented on the extensive holdings of the Fife Folklore archives. A good time was had by all.
Mufti Nadimul Quamar Ahmed is a graduate student in his second year, pursuing a doctorate in sociology at USU. He recently helped survey Utahns to see if environmental concerns affect the decision to have children.
Utah State University President’s Office recently held receptions for this year’s round of inaugural lectures. Three recently promoted faculty in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences presented thoughtful reflections on their research and the even...
