In memory of folklife scholar Warren E. Roberts, a longtime PAS member and former director, this annual competitive award recognizes excellence in original graduate student fieldwork, documentary research, and writing in the area of traditional material culture.

Born in 1924, Warren E. Roberts received, in 1953, the first Ph.D. in folklore awarded in the United States. At first a literary folklorist, Dr. Roberts’ interests turned to material culture after spending one year in Norway under a Fulbright fellowship and an additional two months under a Guggenheim fellowship. The remainder of his long career was spent researching and writing about traditional material culture, most notably tree stump tombstones and log buildings. Warren E. Roberts died on February 1st, 1999.

Students who are unfamiliar with Warren E. Roberts or his contributions to the field of material culture studies are advised to read his important article, “Folklife and Traditional Material Culture: A Credo,” first published in Material Culture 17 (1985): 89-95 and reprinted in Viewpoints on Folklife: Looking at the Overlooked (1988): 15-19. Award Criteria Eligibility

Students in any field who are working toward a graduate degree in an accredited program, or who have graduated from such a program within one academic year of the submission deadline, are eligible for the Warren E. Roberts Graduate Student Paper Competition.

Please click here for a full description of award criteria.

The first ever winner of the Warren Roberts Graduate Student Paper Awards is Kathy Roberts for her paper “Living the Good Life: Cellar Houses and Social Changes in West Virginia.” Ms. Roberts is a graduate student in folklore at Indiana University. Kathy is not related to Warren Roberts, though it is fitting that the first winner of the award has the same surname!








Recipients of the Warren Roberts
Graduate Student Paper Award

2004	Kathy Roberts, Indiana University Folklore Department - "Living the Good Life: Cellar Houses and Social Changes in West Virginia"