Richard Burns, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and Folklore

Contact Information:
Phone: 870.972.2164
Office: Wilson Hall 213
Email:  rburns@astate.edu   

 

 

 

Education:
B.A. Psychology, 1973, University of Texas at Austin
B.S. Education, 1973, University of Texas at Austin
M.A. Folklore/Anth, 1980, University of Texas at Austin
Ph.D. Folklore/Anth, University of Texas at Austin

Specialties:
American Folklore, Folklore of the Southern United States, African-American Folklore, Foodways, Speech Play and Verbal Art, Mississippi Delta Folklore, Material Folk Culture, Ethnomusicology, Prison Folklore, Folk Narrative, and Rural and Urban Ethnography

Courses Regularly Taught:
Cultural Anthropology
Special Topics: Graduate Studies in Folklore
American Folklore
Introduction to Folklore
African-American Folklore
Material Folk Culture
Special Topics in Heritage Studies: Folklore of the Powerless

Research: (Representative Publications)
"Dozens." Encyclopedia of African American Folklore. Anand Prahlad, ed. Greenwood Press, 2006
.
"' I got my duffel packed, I'm goin' to Iraq': Marching Chants in the Military." Ballads and Songs-International Studies, Volume 2 (2006). Special Issue: Ballad Mediations: Folksongs Recovered, Represented, and Reimagined, pp. 6-18.

" Mississippi Delta Folklore." Encyclopedia of World Folklore. Greenwood Press, 2006.

" Prisonlore." Encyclopedia of American Folklife. Simon Bronner, ed. M.E. Sharpe, Inc.

" Toasts." Encyclopedia of African American Folklore. Anand Prahlad, ed. Greenwood Press, 2006

" Worldview." Encyclopedia of World Folklore. William Clements, ed. Greenwood Press.

" Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival (aka: King Biscuit Blues Festival)." The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Online at http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net (November 2006).

Current Project:
Book Manuscript, Prison Folklore.

Honors/Awards:
1996-1997 Faculty Achievement Award for Research and Scholarship, Arkansas State University.

Awarded matching grants from the Lecture-Concert series to bring blues performers to the Delta Blues Symposia, 1995-2004.

Heritage Studies Mini-Grant, ASU, $450, 2005.

College Faculty Achievement Award for Service, 2004-2005.