Folklore and the Search for Home (American Folklore Society Presidential Invited Plenary Address, October 2008)

Folklore in many ways is the search for an understanding of what home means. Folklore makes us feel at home in our identities. But what can the search for home mean in an age when the soul is global, in an age when the circle of the "we" must expand to create ever more inclusive communities? Should we cling to the folklore of all our little tribes, when building a commonwealth seems more urgent? I will address these questions both in general terms and in light of my own Cuban fieldwork experiences, where my search for home has led me to become an uneasy folklorist.