Episode 1: Follow the Object
OCCUPATIONAL FOLKLIFE is the culture of work, think tools of the trade, superstitions, and everyday practices of doing a particular job.
In this short conversation with Dr. Maribel Alvarez, we learn about the work of a folklorist, as she shares one of the instruments of the profession and an early lesson in yard art that validated her curiosity. Dr. Maribel Alvarez holds the Jim Griffith Chair in Public Folklore at the Southwest Center, University of Arizona. She has held positions at the University of Arizona as Associate Dean for Community Engagement in the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences and as Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion. Maribel is the founder of the Southwest Folklife Alliance and has served as Senior Director of Tucson Meet Yourself Folklife Festival since 2010. In 2018, the American Folklore Society awarded her the prestigious Americo Paredes Prize for “excellence in integrating scholarship and engagement with the people and communities one studies.”
