Women’s and Gender Studies Professor Dr. Pauline Greenhill has been elected a Fellow of the American Folklore Society, an honour that recognizes her outstanding contributions to the field. She is one of only a handful of Canadians to receive the honour, including Helen Creighton (1899 – 1989) and Edith Fowke (1913-1996).
American Folklore Society Fellows have produced a significant number of important articles, books, and other scholarly productions or exhibitions on folklore, and have provided meritorious service to the Society and the discipline of folklore studies.
I look forward to advocating for Canadian and international folklore scholarship, and for equity in AFS.
Dr. Pauline Greenhill
Greenhill’s nominators described her as a “rare dynamite scholar” and “a generous mentor of junior scholars, an innovative teacher, and a splendid example of feminist brilliance and integrity.”
Her research in traditional song, Canadian traditions, folktales and fairy tales, and folk poetry is represented in landmark publications in folklore studies — especially as it intersects with gender and sexuality, ethnicity, genre, and media studies.
“I’m fortunate to be working with an excellent group of like-minded scholars who seek to make space in American academics for inclusive methods and critical humanities perspectives,” said Greenhill.
Next academic year, Greenhill will be teaching a cross-listed Women’s and Gender Studies and Disability Studies special topics course on fairy tales and disability. She has recently co-authored an article on this topic with University of Winnipeg graduate Jennifer Hammond Sebring. The article is scheduled to appear in the journal Marvels & Tales.
Plans are underway in 2021 to launch two recently published books; Fairy-Tale TV (co-written with Jill Terry Rudy) and Reality, Magic, and Other Lies: Fairy-Tale Film Truths. She also hopes for a rescheduling of the launch of her 2019 book, Clever Maids, Fearless Jacks, and a Cat: Fairy Tales from a Living Oral Tradition (co-edited with Anita Best and Martin Lovelace), an event originally scheduled in March 2020 and delayed by the pandemic.
In addition to its honorary function, American Folklore Society Fellows sponsor activities to advance folklore studies, including mentoring programs for students, plenary sessions at the annual meeting, and special awards.
“I look forward to advocating for Canadian and international folklore scholarship, and for equity in AFS and its Fellows’ policies and practices,” said Greenhill.
