Roger D. Abrahams

Who is Roger D. Abrahams?

Roger D. Abrahams is a prominent folklorist whose work focuses on the expressive cultures and cultural histories of the Americas, with a specific emphasis on African American peoples and traditions. He is the Hum Rosen Professor of Humanities, Emeritus, at the University of Pennsylvania where he taught in the Department of Folklore and Folklife. He is the author of a large number of books, among which Everyday Life: A Poetics of Vernacular Practices is a recent title.

Having earned his Ph.D. there, Abrahams returned to the University of Pennsylvania in 1986 after teaching previously at the University of Texas and at Scripps and Pitzer Colleges in Claremont, California. He 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. He was awarded the Kenneth Goldstein Award for Lifetime Academic Leadership by the American Folklore Society in 2005. and is also an AFS Fellow.

Roger D. Abrahams is an accomplished folklorist and author. Abrahams was one of three children born to Robert D.