131:, where he was Alexander H. Kenan Professor of Humanities and Anthropology for six years. In 1986 he returned to the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught Folklore and Folklife and was named the Hum Rosen Professor of Folklore and Folklife, and founded the Center for Folklore and Ethnography, before retiring in 2002.
111:
He became a full professor at Texas in 1969 in the departments of
English and Anthropology and remained there for ten years. While a professor, he also served for two years beginning in 1968 as the associate director for the Center for Intercultural Studies in Folklore and Oral History and for five
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Abrahams has been described as one of the "first researchers to engage in nuanced intelligent discussions on the folkways of the
African Diaspora in the Americas". It has been argued that his early work on speech-patterns, "represented Black speech, and by extension, Black people in a different,
158:
Abrahams was described as having "the most fertile mind of the grand generation of
American folklorists". He was also hailed as a "pioneer of the performance approach , also contributing to our understanding of folk song, narrative and speech play, proverb and riddle, folk drama and festival,
41:, where he taught in the Department of Folklore and Folklife. He was the author of a large number of books and was the founding Director of Penn's Center for Folklore and Ethnography, a research and public outreach unit associated with the Department of Folklore and Folklife.
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During his time at Texas, Abrahams drew on his research to produce policy documents and teaching materials for the Texas
Educational Agency, which refuted the prevailing “deficiency” approach to teaching African American students.
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in 1959 (M.A. in
Literature and Folklore). He then undertook a Ph.D. in English and Folklore at the University of Pennsylvania, which he completed in 1961.
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singers in South
Philadelphia. His Ph.D. - "one of the first studies exploring urban Black expression on its own terms" - formed the basis of his book
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as instructor (1960–63), assistant professor (1963–66), and then associate professor (1966–69) in the
Department of English.
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whose work focused on the expressive cultures and cultural histories of the
Americas, with a specific emphasis on
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in 1933 and grew up in a "cultivated, affluent ... family of German-Jewish descent". Abrahams graduated from
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For his Ph.D. research, Abrahams studied forms of speech play he had first encountered from
African American
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creolization, folklore and literature, folklore theory, and the intellectual history of folklore studies".
273:
Abrahams, Roger D. 1987. 'Child
Ballads in the West Indies: Familiar Fabulations, Creole Performances'.
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411:"A Portrait of a Folklorist as a Young Man: A Chapter in the Urban Biography of Roger D. Abrahams"
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Abrahams, Roger D. 1972. 'Personal Power and Social Restraint in the Definition of Folklore'. In
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Abrahams, Roger D., with Spitzer, Nicholas, Szwed, John F. and Thompson, Robert Farris. 2006.
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Abrahams was a strong advocate for public folklore and was major force in the creation of the
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228:, ed. Américo Paredes and Richard Bauman, pp. 16–30. Austin: University of Texas Press.
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Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South
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The Man-of-Words in the West Indies: Performance and the Emergence of Creole Culture
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Abrahams' career began almost immediately after he obtained his Ph.D., first at the
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Deep Down in the Jungle: Negro Narrative Folklore from the Streets of Philadelphia
70:
Deep Down in the Jungle: Negro Narrative Folklore from the Streets of Philadelphia
331:"Roger D. Abrahams, Folklorist Who Studied African-American Language, Dies at 84"
88:. As a performer, Abrahams influenced "among others, the young Robert Zimmerman (
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Abrahams, Roger D. 1970. 'The Negro Stereotype: Negro Folklore and the Riots'.
287:
Abrahams, Roger D. 1993. 'Phantoms of Romantic Nationalism in Folkloristics'.
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Afro-American Folktales: Stories from Black Traditions in the New World
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and served as its president in 1979. He was awarded the society's
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After Africa: Extracts from British Travel Accounts and Journals
235:. Bloomington: Indiana University, Folklore Publications Group.
450:"Roger D. Abrahams, 84, Penn folklorist, writer, and performer"
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University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences alumni
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Abrahams, Roger D. 2003. 'Questions of Criolian Contagion'.
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Past Directors of the Center for Folklore & Ethnography
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Blues for New Orleans: Mardi Gras and America’s Creole Soul
399:, Journal of American Folklore (2018) 131 (520): 212–218.
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African Folktales: Traditional Stories of the Black World
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Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni
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Kenneth Goldstein Award for Lifetime Academic Leadership
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Abrahams, Roger D. and Szwed, John F. (eds). 1983.
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Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor and Other Folk Songs
33:Abrahams was the Hum Rosen Professor of Humanities
312:. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
305:. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
192:The Journal of American Folklore 75 (297):209-220.
256:. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
303:Everyday Life: A Poetics of Vernacular Practices
182:Award for Lifetime Academic Leadership in 2005.
112:years beginning in 1974 as department chairman.
22:(June 12, 1933 – June 20, 2017) was an American
190:Abrahams, Roger D. 1962. 'Playing the dozens.'
569:- a Festschrift edition in honour of Abrahams.
8:
196:Abrahams, Roger D., and Foss, George. 1968.
618:Presidents of the American Folklore Society
92:)". In 1962, Abrahams released a solo LP,
628:American people of German-Jewish descent
503:Fellows of the American Folklore Society
476:Richards-Greaves, Gillian (2009-02-20).
263:. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
233:Man as Animal: The Stereotype in Culture
397:Obituary, Roger D. Abrahams (1933–2017)
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221:. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
200:. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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226:Toward New Perspectives in Folklore
608:University of Pennsylvania faculty
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329:Grimes, William (June 29, 2017).
478:"Biographies: Roger D. Abrahams"
80:For a period, Abrahams lived in
448:Cook, Bonnie L. (7 July 2017).
266:Abrahams, Roger D. (ed.) 1985.
1:
524:The American Folklore Society
369:. Accessed December 23, 2009.
245:Abrahams, Roger D. ed. 1983.
242:. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
198:Anglo-American Folksong Style
174:Abrahams was a Fellow of the
296:Journal of American Folklore
289:Journal of American Folklore
275:Journal of Folklore Research
212:Journal of American Folklore
156:Journal of American Folklore
96:(International, INT 13034).
623:Educators from Philadelphia
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301:Abrahams, Roger D. (2005)
39:University of Pennsylvania
593:Swarthmore College alumni
454:The Philadelphia Inquirer
280:Abrahams, Roger D. 1992.
231:Abrahams, Roger D. 1976.
217:Abrahams, Roger D. 1970.
203:Abrahams, Roger D. 1970.
176:American Folklore Society
84:, where he recorded with
550:; accessed July 9, 2015.
509:; accessed July 9, 2015.
252:Abrahams, Roger D. 1983
238:Abrahams, Roger D. 1976
136:American Folklife Center
45:Early life and education
30:peoples and traditions.
167:In 1965, he received a
151:more favorable light".
119:From Texas he moved to
409:Ben-Amos, Dan (2016).
284:. New York: Pantheon.
270:. New York: Pantheon.
249:. New York: Pantheon.
154:In an obituary in the
520:"Past AFS Presidents"
186:Selected publications
169:Guggenheim Fellowship
129:Claremont, California
49:Abrahams was born in
613:American folklorists
20:Roger David Abrahams
207:. Chicago: Aldine.
140:Library of Congress
106:University of Texas
59:Columbia University
16:American folklorist
336:The New York Times
55:Swarthmore College
395:Noyes, Dorothy.
298:116(459):73–87..
214:83 (328):229–49.
180:Kenneth Goldstein
82:Greenwich Village
57:in 1955 and then
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567:(2016). 75 (3–4)
565:Western Folklore
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588:2017 deaths
583:1933 births
577:Categories
548:AFSnet.org
529:2022-03-19
507:AFSnet.org
488:2022-03-27
459:2022-03-19
316:References
24:folklorist
427:0043-373X
367:UPenn.edu
146:Influence
90:Bob Dylan
435:44791377
347:June 30,
72:(1970).
35:Emeritus
138:of the
66:Doo-wop
37:at the
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163:Honors
100:Career
431:JSTOR
76:Music
423:ISSN
349:2017
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