Welcome to the Pennsylvania Center for Folklore

The Pennsylvania Center for Folklore (founded in 1990 as the Center for Pennsylvania Culture Studies) is committed to studying, documenting, and interpreting historical and contemporary cultural traditions and communities, especially in Pennsylvania, in order to promote greater knowledge of the diverse range of folklore and folklife across the commonwealth, region, and nation.

The Folklore Historian has come home!

Established as a journal at Penn State Harrisburg in the 1980s, The Folklore Historian has...

The American Folklore Society and International Society for Folklore and Ethnography issue statements regarding the invasion of Ukraine

The American Folklore Society, the leading organization for folklore scholars in the United...

In Memorium: Dr. Vivian Yenika-Agbaw

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Dr. Vivian Yenika-Agbaw, one of...

First Legends and Lore Roadside Markers Go Up in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Center for Folklore and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation have partnered to place...

The PACF Announces “Cultural Health: A Forum on Folk Medical Systems”

Please join us via zoom for a 2-day forum titled Cultural Health: A Forum on Folk Medical Systems....

Folk Artists Gathering on Saturday, August 28

Join the Susquehanna Folk Arts Center on Saturday, August 28 at 10:30 AM for a networking event...

Artist to Artist: A Residency Exploring Gospel Traditions

Sponsored by the Susquehanna Folk Music Society. Information, videos, and to register...

Artist to Artist: A Residency Exploring Jewish Music Traditions

We are excited to invite you to join us online at www.sfmsfolk.org on December 6, from 10 a.m. to...

Joseph Valente publishes “A deaf lens: Adapting video‐cued multivocal ethnography for the “kindergartens for the deaf in three countries” project.”

PACF Faculty Affiliate and Associate Professor of Education has recently published some of his...

Kimberly Powell co-edits special issue of Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies

PACF faculty affiliate and Associate Professor of Education, Art Education, and Asian Studies...

National Connections

Advised by a board of experts from several Penn State campuses, as well as institutions and organizations regionally and nationally, the Center develops and supports research, collections, courses, degrees, and events related to folklore and folk cultures.

Image left: An old, wood-slat barn sits on the side of the road in rural Pennsylvania.

Academic Affiliations

The Center is affiliated with the Penn State Harrisburg School of Humanities and its American Studies program.

Archives

Explore our distinctive collections of documents, photographs, audio, and visual recordings showcasing Pennsylvania folklore.

Collections

The Pennsylvania Center for Folklore partners with the American Folklore Society to catalog multi-format collections.

Digital Projects

Access several online databases housing digitized collections of Pennsylvania folklore.