AFS Now and Tomorrow: The View from the Stepladder (AFS Presidential Address, 28 October 2000)

Drawing its themes from a traditional North Carolina Jack tale, this address posits that memory, taste, and truth telling designate the challenges that lie before the American Folklore Society at this point in its history. We must remember our disciplinary history, maintain a membership with divergent interests and careers, and acknowledge two difficult truths: first, that for survival, the profession of folklore needs more diverse practitioners and, second, that the profession of folklore, under the leadership of the American Folklore Society, is ready to achieve increased public, academic, and scholarly influence in the United States.