Michael Ann Williams (born 1953) is an American Folklorist, recognised for her research into vernacular architecture, particularly in Appalachia.
She is Emeritus Professor of Folklore at Western Kentucky University. [1]
Williams attended Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in anthropology. [2]
Williams undertook doctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania, achieving a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife. Her dissertation supervisor was Don Yoder. [2] Her dissertation formed the basis of her book Homeplace: the social use and meaning of the folk dwelling in southwestern North Carolina (1991). [3]
Williams was based at Western Kentucky University for her entire teaching career, starting in 1986. In 2004 she became Head of the newly created Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology: a role she continued to serve in until 2017. [4]
Williams also worked on various applied projects with her graduate students, including "an oral history project documenting the former logging town of Ravensford, North Carolina, part of a larger cultural resource documentation effort accompanying a transfer of land from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians". [4]
Williams was president of the American Folklore Society between 2014 and 2015. [5] The title of her presidential address was "After the Revolution: Folklore, History, and the Future of Our Discipline". [2] In 2019, she received the AFS's Kenneth Goldstein Award for Lifetime Academic Leadership. [6]
Williams has also served as Vice president of the Vernacular Architecture Forum. [1]
Michael Ann Williams (born 1953) is an American Folklorist, recognised for her research into vernacular architecture, particularly in Appalachia.
She is Emeritus Professor of Folklore at Western Kentucky University. [1]
Williams attended Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in anthropology. [2]
Williams undertook doctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania, achieving a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife. Her dissertation supervisor was Don Yoder. [2] Her dissertation formed the basis of her book Homeplace: the social use and meaning of the folk dwelling in southwestern North Carolina (1991). [3]
Williams was based at Western Kentucky University for her entire teaching career, starting in 1986. In 2004 she became Head of the newly created Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology: a role she continued to serve in until 2017. [4]
Williams also worked on various applied projects with her graduate students, including "an oral history project documenting the former logging town of Ravensford, North Carolina, part of a larger cultural resource documentation effort accompanying a transfer of land from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians". [4]
Williams was president of the American Folklore Society between 2014 and 2015. [5] The title of her presidential address was "After the Revolution: Folklore, History, and the Future of Our Discipline". [2] In 2019, she received the AFS's Kenneth Goldstein Award for Lifetime Academic Leadership. [6]
Williams has also served as Vice president of the Vernacular Architecture Forum. [1]