EDUCATION

Ph.D.       Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg; American Studies, 2015

M.P.A.      John Jay College, New York; Public Policy & Administration, 2022

M.A.        Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green; Folk Studies, 2010

B.A.         University of Maryland, College Park; Government and Politics, 2007

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TEACHING

Professor, Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, English Department (2023-)

Associate Professor, Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, English Department (2020-2023)

Deputy Chairperson, Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, English Department (2019-)

Assistant Professor, Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, English Department (2015-20)

Lecturer, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg; School of Humanities (2010-2015)

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PUBLICATIONS                                                                                          

BOOKS

North American Monsters: A Contemporary Legend Casebook. Logan: Utah State University Press, 2022.

Tradition, Urban Identity, and the Baltimore “Hon”: The Folk in the City. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018.

Maryland Legends: Folklore from the Old Line State (with Trevor Blank). Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2014.

South Central Pennsylvania Legends and Lore. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2012.

ARTICLES, ESSAYS, AND BOOK CHAPTERS

“Teaching at a Community College” in What Folklorists Do: Professional Possibilities in Folklore Studies, ed. Timothy C. Lloyd, Bloomington: Indiana University Press (2021).

“The Chocolate Egg in South Central Pennsylvania: Cracking a Seasonal Tradition” (with co-author Mira Johnson), Digest: A Journal of Foodways & Culture vol. 7, no. 1 (2018-2019): 31-55.

“The Goatman and Washington, D.C.: Strange Sightings and the Fear of the Encroaching City” in Supernatural Cities, ed. Karl Bell, Woodbridge, U.K.: Boydell Press (2019): 145-164.

“Media and Internet in American Folklore and Folklife Studies” in The Oxford Handbook of American Folklore and Folklife Studies, ed. Simon J. Bronner. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2019): 598-624.

“Urban, Suburban, and Metropolitan Folklore and Folklife” in The Oxford Handbook of American Folklore and Folklife Studies, ed. Simon J. Bronner. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2018): 145-164.

“Growing Little Traditions: Baltimore’s Little Miss Hon Contest,” Children’s Folklore Review vol. 38 (2017): 79-91.

“Movies,” Youth Cultures in America, eds. Simon J. Bronner and Cindy Dell Clark, pp. 481-489. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Greenwood (2016).

“Daniel Boone,” Encyclopedia of American Studies, ed. Simon J. Bronner, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press (2014).

“Legend,” in Encyclopedia of American Studies, ed. Simon J. Bronner, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press (2014).

“Getting Maryland’s Goat: Diffusion and Canonization of Prince George’s County’s Goatman Legend,” Contemporary Legend: The Journal of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research series 3, vol. 3 (2013): 63-77.

“Toying with Corporate Narratives: The Genesis of Mick(e)y Mouse,” New Directions in Folklore vol. 11, no. 2 (2013): 84-95.

“Folklorists, Folk Studies, and the Folklife Archives at Western Kentucky University: A History,” The Folklore Historian Vol. 29 (2012): 3-15.

“The Folklife Archives at Western Kentucky University: A Special Collection,” Kentucky Libraries vol. 75, no. 4 (2011): 16-19.

BOOK REVIEWS

Unruly Audience: Folk Interventions in Popular Media, by Greg Kelley,  in Western Folklore vol. 82, no. 1 (2023): 117-119.

Basilisks and Beowulf: Monsters in the Anglo-Saxon World, by Tim Flight, in Journal of Folklore Research (2022). https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/jfrr/article/view/35642/38688.

Craving Supernatural Creatures: German Fairy-Tale Figures in American Pop Culture, by Claudia Schwabe, in Supernatural Studies (2020). https://www.supernaturalstudies.com/reviews/book-review-by-d-puglia-of-c-schwabe-craving-supernatural-creatures.

Behold the Proverbs of a People: Proverbial Wisdom in Culture, Literature, and Politics (2014), by Wolfgang Mieder, in Journal of American Folklore vol. 132, no. 524 (2019): 223-225.

City of Neighborhoods: Memory, Folklore, and Ethnic Place in Boston, by Anthony Bak Buccitelli, in New Directions in Folklore vol. 15, no. 1/2 (2017): 145-48.

Built with Faith: Italian American Imagination and Catholic Material Culture in New York City, by Joseph Sciorra, in Altreitalie: International Journal of Studies on Italian Migrations in the World vol. 52 (2016).

Sensing the Past: Hollywood Stars and Historical Visions, by Jim Cullen, in Cultural Analysis, vol. 12 (2013).

The Opposite of Cold: The Northwoods Finnish Sauna Tradition, by Michael Nordskog, in Material Culture vol. 45, no. 1 (2013): 77-80.

The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business, by Nelson Lichtenstein, in Journal of Consumer Culture vol. 13, no. 1 (2013): 70-72.

Legend-Tripping Online: Supernatural Folklore and the Search for Ong’s Hat, by Michael Kinsella, in Journal of Folklore Research (2011).

Newslore: Contemporary Folklore on the Internet, by Russell Frank, in New Directions in Folklore vol. 9, no. 1 (2011).

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AWARDS AND HONORS

Brian McConnell Book Award, International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, 2022.

PSC-CUNY Research Award, City University of New York, 2019-2020.

Faculty Fellowship Publication Program, City University of New York, 2017-18.

Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award, Pennsylvania State University, 2014.

Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Penn State Harrisburg Alumni Society, 2014.

Sue Samuelson Award for Academic Excellence in American Studies, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, 2014.

Louise E. Hoffman Memorial Adjunct Teaching Award, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, 2013.

Dr. David Buchan Student Essay Prize, International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, 2011.

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SERVICE TO THE DISCIPLINE

Member, Editorial Board, Contemporary Legend Casebook Series, Utah State University Press, since 2022.

Member, Annual Meeting Program Planning Committee, American Folklore Society, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 2021.

Member, Aesop Prize Committee, American Folklore Society, since 2018.

Member, Annual Meeting Program Planning Committee, American Folklore Society, Buffalo, New York, 2018.

Treasurer, Middle Atlantic Folklife Association, 2017-2019.

Vice President, Middle Atlantic Folklife Association, 2015-2017

President, Middle Atlantic Folklife Association, 2013-2015.

Member at Large, Executive Council, International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, 2013-2022.

Vice President, Middle Atlantic Folklife Association, 2011-2013.

Senior Convener, NewFolk section; American Folklore Society, 2011-2014.

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EDITORIAL WORK

Editor, Contemporary Legend, since 2022.

Editorial Board, Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore, since 2017.

Editorial Board, Supernatural Studies, since 2015.

Editor, FOAFTale News: Newsletter of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, 2015-2016.

Editor, New Directions in Folklore, 2014-2018.

Assistant Editor, FOAFtale News: Newsletter of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, 2013-2015.

Associate Editor, New Directions in Folklore, 2011-2014.

Editorial Board, New Directions in Folklore, since 2010.

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CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Panelist and Chair, “Forum: Environment and Tradition on and by the River: The Susquehanna National Heritage Area,” American Folklore Society, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, October 23, 2021.

Panelist, “Forum: Referencing Folklore: The Work, and Future, of the Discipline’s Standards and Measures,” American Folklore Society, virtual, October 18, 2021.

“Creating a Monster: How Legends Like Goatman are Made,” International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, virtual, June 30, 2021.

Moderator, “Easter Traditions of Central Pennsylvania,” American Folklore Society Summer Series, virtual, May 13, 2021.

Panelist, “Forum: Digital Ethics,” American Folklore Society, Baltimore, Maryland, October 19, 2019.

“North American Monsters: Legends on the Periphery,” International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, Memphis, Tennessee, June 26, 2019.

Panelist, “Cryptozoology of the Middle Atlantic Region,” Eastern American Studies Association, Summerdale, Pennsylvania, March 30, 2019.

“The Goatman of Maryland,” Cryptozoology Conference, Monroe Township, New Jersey, March 10, 2019.

“The Goatman of Prince George’s County: Supernatural Sightings and the Fear of the Encroaching City,” American Folklore Society, Buffalo, New York, October 20, 2018.

“The Poe Toaster: A Literary Legend, a Mysterious Man, and the Supernatural in the City,” International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, Brussels, Belgium, June 6, 2018.

“Tradition, Urban Identity, and the Baltimore ‘Hon,’” New York Folk Arts Roundtable, Buffalo, New York, May 23, 2018.

“MAFA Meets Folklore Students, a.k.a. The Public Folklore Bonanza,” Pennsylvania Folklore Symposium, Middletown, Pennsylvania, May 19, 2018.

“Folk Speech™: Intellectual Property, Local Identity, and the Trademarking of the Vernacular,” American Folklore Society, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 21, 2017.

Panelist, “Folklife, Interrupted: The Potentials and Important of Folklife Work(ers) in Uncertain Times,” Joint Conference of the Eastern American Studies Association, the Middle Atlantic Folklife Association, and the Society for Americanists, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, April 1, 2017.

“The Yolk of Tradition: South Central Pennsylvania’s Chocolate Easter Egg,” Joint Conference of the Eastern American Studies Association, Middle Atlantic Folklife Association, and Society for Americanists, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, March 31, 2017.

“The Battle for Baltimore: The Hon Culture Wars,” Faculty Lecture Series, Bronx Community College, Bronx, New York, November 3, 2016.

“The Chocolate Easter Egg in South Central Pennsylvania: Cracking a Distinctive Local Tradition,” American Folklore Society, Miami, Florida, October 22, 2016.

“Food and Folklore Pedagogy: Tasting and Sampling Definitions,” Bronx Community College’s Fourth Annual Faculty Day, Bronx, New York, April 15, 2016.

“Conjuring Charm City: Folk Speech, the Esteemed Vernacular, and the Enactment of Place,” American Folklore Society, Long Beach, California, October 15, 2015.

Moderator, “’The Child of Such Union’: A Forum on the (Em)bedding of Folklore and American Studies” Joint Conference of the Eastern American Studies Association and the Middle Atlantic Folklife Association, Glassboro, New Jersey, March 27, 2015.

Panelist, “Forum: Myths and Opportunities of Open Access,” American Folklore Society, Santa Fe, New Mexico, November 6, 2014.

“Darwin’s Deathbed Confession: The Evolution of a Christian Contemporary Legend,” International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, Prague, Czech Republic, June 6, 2014.

“One Neighborhood, Two Cultures, Three Narratives: Class, Gentrification, and Multivocalism in a Postindustrial Mill Town,” American Studies Association, Washington, DC, November 23, 2013.

“Placing the ‘Hon’ in Baltimore: Urban White Identity, Boosterism, and the Stigmatized Vernacular,” American Folklore Society, Providence, Rhode Island, October 19, 2013.

“Everybody Hates Chris Chase: Vernacular Disdain on the Internet,” American Folklore Society, New Orleans, Louisiana, October 27, 2012.

“Toying with Corporate Narratives: The Genesis of Mick(e)y Mouse,” International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, Göttingen, Germany, May 8, 2012 and Eastern American Studies Association, Harrisonburg, Virginia, March 22, 2013.

“The Beauty of the Fairytale and the Beast of Mass Media: A Reconsideration of the Disney Fairytale Films,” Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Boston, Massachusetts, April 13, 2012.

Panelist, “Biases and Balances: A Discussion of Neutrality in Archives, Museums, and Other Folklore Collections,” American Folklore Society, Bloomington, Indiana, October 14, 2011.

“Getting Maryland’s Goat: The Goatman of Prince George’s County,” International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, May 25, 2011.

“Apocalyptic Appropriation: Spurious ‘Mayan’ Heritage in Modern American Folk and Popular Culture,” Joint Conference of the Middle Atlantic American Studies Association, Middle Atlantic Folklife Association, and Pennsylvania Political Science Association, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, April 9, 2011.