- Ph.D., University of Louisiana, 2012
- M.A., Middle Tennessee University, 2007
- B.A., Maryville College, 2002
K. Brandon Barker
Assistant Professor, Folklore and Ethnomusicology
Editor, Children’s Folklore Review
- barkerbr@indiana.edu
- (812) 856-7817
- 800 E. 3rd St., 217
- Office Hours
Education
Research interests
- cognitive folkloristics
- folk illusions
- material culture and embodied cognition
- American country music
- children's folklore
- American foodways
- folklore and diversity in the southern United States
- science of animal folklore
Courses recently taught
- Embodying the Humanities
- Illusions in Culture
- Introduction to Folklore
- Folklore and Science of Childhood
- American Country Music
- Folklore of the South
- American Foodways
Awards & Distinctions
- Iona and Peter Opie Prize for Books on Children’s Folklore, for Folk Illusions: Children, Folklore, and Sciences of Perception, 2020
- Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award, 2019
- Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award, 2017
Books
Publication highlights
- 2020. “The Tooth Fairy as an Essential Worker in a Child’s World of Wonder.” The Conversation.
- 2019. “The Animal Question as Folklore in Science.” In Journal of Folklore Research. 56.2/3 Special Issue, Folklore as (Unlikely) Frame for Science, The Aesop’s Fable Paradigm. 15-26.
- 2019. “Anthropomorphomania and the Rise of the Animal Mind: A Conversation.” (with Daniel J. Povinelli) In Journal of Folklore Research. 56.2/3 Special Issue, Folklore as (Unlikely) Frame for Science, The Aesop’s Fable Paradigm. 71-90.
- 2018. "Folk Illusions as Emic, Educational Prompt." Journal of Folklore and Education 5(1)
- 2017. "Folk Illusions: More than Child's Play." The Psychologist (Vol. 30): 52-54. (with Claiborne Rice)
- 2016. "Searching for Ratzinger." Turnip Trucks 2(2): 94-128. (with Daniel John Povinelli)
- 2016. Scientific American: Mind "Discover the Science of School Yard Illusions." (by Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen L. Macknik)
The College of Arts