James Bailey Endowment Fund and Research Grant in Folklore Studies

ASEEES thanks Professor Natalie Kononenko, Kule Chair Emerita in Ukrainian Ethnography at the University of Alberta (Canada), for creating the James Bailey Endowment Fund and Dissertation Research Grant in Folklore Studies. Prof. Kononenko is a highly regarded senior scholar whose published works include the award-winners Ukrainian Minstrels: And the Blind Shall Sing and Ukrainian Epic and Historical Song: Folklore in Context plus other works. She has established this grant in the name of her mentor, Prof. James Bailey.

Prof. Bailey received his doctorate from Harvard University’s Slavic Department in 1965 and joined the faculty of the Slavic Department at University of Wisconsin, Madison where he worked until his retirement in 1995. He held a variety of positions, from Departmental Chair to Head of the Russian Area Studies Program, and Head of the Folklore Program, an initiative he helped to establish. Professor Kononenko recently shared her reasons for founding the award: “The basis of this award is Jim’s dedication to folklore and the tremendous energy he exerted in the promotion of the field. It was on Jim’s initiative that SEEFA, the Slavic East European Folklore Association, came into being. As this organization struggled, as most young organizations do, it was Jim’s energy and his prodding that kept us going. Jim realized how important folklore is for the understanding of culture and human thought in general. It is in recognition of Jim’s dedication to folklore that this award is granted. We hope that it will nurture a future generation of scholars who share Jim’s understanding of the importance of folklore and his dedication to the field.”

The James Bailey Dissertation Research Grant in Folklore Studies will be awarded to a doctoral student in the US or Canada starting in 2024. ASEEES sincerely thanks Prof. Kononenko for her generous support for the future of Folklore Studies.