Michael Owen Jones Explained

Michael Owen Jones (born 1942)[1] is an American Folklorist and Emeritus Professor in the World Arts and Cultures/Dance Program at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).[2]

Jones has wide-ranging research interests: he is particularly known for his research on folk medicine and on foodways but has also researched on other of genres of folklore including "folk belief, speech... arts and crafts and poetry".[3]

Early life and education

Jones studied at the University of Kansas, earning a BA in history, Art and Political Science in 1960. He studied Folklore at Indiana University Bloomington earning a MA in 1964 and a Ph.D. (in Folklore and American Studies) in 1970.[3] His Ph.D. dissertation was titled 'Chairmaking in Appalachia; a study in style and creative imagination in American folk art'.[4]

Career

Jones moved to a position at UCLA in 1968 in the Folklore and Mythology Program and remained there for the entirety of his career.[3] He was a founding member of UCLA's Interdepartmental Program in World Arts & Cultures in 1973.[2]

Jones has conducted fieldwork in "Western Canada and the Maritimes as well as Appalachia, the Great Plains, and Southern California".[2]

Jones has authored over 230 academic works.[2] He was also a general editor of the Folk Art and Artists Series, University Press of Mississippi.[5]

In 2021, Jones co-launched the Archive of Feeling,[6] "one of the largest databases of medicinal folklore from around the world",[7] based in part on material collected by Jones that became part of the UCLA Archive of American Folk Medicine.[8]

Recognition

He has received funding from a number of organisations, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, Skaggs Foundation, Canadian Museum of Civilization and the National Institutes of Health.[2]

He is a Fellow of the American Folklore Society (AFS) and a former member of the AFS's executive board. He is also a former President of the AFS, serving in that role between 2004 and 2005.[9] His Presidential Address focused on foodways.[10]

Jones is also a former President of the California Folklore Society and has served as a council member of the California Council for the Humanities.[11]

He is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and also a Fellow of the Finnish Academy of Sciences and Letters, and the Society for Applied Anthropology.[2]

His book Frankenstein Was a Vegetarian: Essays on Food Choice, Identity, and Symbolism was nominated for the Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year in 2022.[12]

Selected publications

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Michael Owen Jones (interview) . 2022-04-02 . digital.lib.usu.edu . en.
  2. Web site: Michael Owen Jones . 2022-04-02 . www.wacd.ucla.edu . en.
  3. Georges. Robert A.. 2008. Michael Owen Jones: Folklorist "Extraordinaire". Western Folklore. 67. 2/3. 140–144. 25474910 . 0043-373X. 2022-04-02.
  4. Chairmaking in Appalachia; a study in style and creative imagination in American folk art.. 1969. Place of publication not identified. en. Michael Owen. Jones. worldcat.org. 1108791973 . 2022-04-03.
  5. Web site: Folk Art and Artists Series University Press of Mississippi . 2022-04-02 . www.upress.state.ms.us.
  6. Web site: Home Page . 2022-04-02 . The Archive of Healing . en.
  7. Web site: UCLA professor launches digital Archive of Healing™ . 2022-04-02 . www.wac.ucla.edu . en.
  8. Web site: UCLA researchers digitize massive collection of folk medicine . 2022-04-02 . UCLA . en-US.
  9. Web site: Past AFS Presidents . 2022-04-02 . The American Folklore Society . en-US.
  10. Jones. Michael Owen. 2007. Food Choice, Symbolism, and Identity: Bread-and-Butter Issues for Folkloristics and Nutrition Studies (American Folklore Society Presidential Address, October 2005). The Journal of American Folklore. 120. 476. 129–177. 4137687 . 0021-8715. 2022-04-03.
  11. Adams. Elizabeth T.. Posey. Sandra Mizumoto. Shukla. Pravina. 2008. Man of Constant Inspiration: Essays in Honor of Michael Owen Jones. Western Folklore. 67. 2/3. 145–161. 25474911 . 0043-373X. 2022-04-02.
  12. Oddest Book Title of the Year shortlist announced for The Diagram Prize 2022. The Bookseller. November 4, 2022. November 4, 2022.

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