Tree of Life by santero George López of New Mexico. Carved cottonwood, 21" x 26" ca. 1950. López has received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Photograph by Dudley Smith, courtesy Denver Museum of Natural History. From the Masters of Traditional Arts DVD-ROM, produced by Alan Govenar and published by ABC-CLIO.
 

Benefits of AFS Membership

Why join the American Folklore Society?


The greatest benefit of belonging to AFS is that of participating in the major professional society in the world devoted to folklore.

In a recent survey, for instance, more than 80% of our members said that they belonged to the Society to express their professional identity, to build professional and personal relationships, and to keep abreast of new research in folklore.

You can become a part of this by joining AFS.

  • NEW MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT!! Members of the Society now receive FREE online access to full-text, searchable versions of current and recent past issues of the Journal of American Folklore via Project MUSE
  • NEW MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT!!  Online access to JSTOR’s fully-searchable versions of back issues of four of the world's major English-language folklore journals: Folklore, the Journal of American Folklore, the Journal of Folklore Research, and Western Folklore, all for only $15/year (with access to more folklore journals to come!)
  • NEW MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT!!  A 20% discount on purchases from the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings catalog
  • NEW MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT!!  An 85% discount for pre-publication purchases of the Modern Language Association/AFS annual international bibliography of folklore scholarship
  • NEW MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT!!   Exclusive members-only access to a directory, with areas of specialization, of folklorists willing to serve as promotion and tenure reviewers
As a member of the Society, you’ll also receive these benefits:
  • 4 issues a year of the Journal of American Folklore, widely recognized as the leading journal in our field, delivered directly to your door
  • 4 issues a year of the American Folklore Society News, with timely information about the field of folklore and the activities of the Society, delivered directly to your e-mail inbox
  • A 20% discount on registration fees for the Society’s annual meeting, the high point of many AFS members’ professional year
  • Discounts of up to 20% on the titles displayed and advertised at our annual meeting by this country’s foremost publishers of folklore books
  • Access to other members-only sections of the AFSNet web site, including our membership directory and advance preprint versions of all Journal of American Folklore reviews
  • You can serve as a member of one of the Society’s committees (cultural diversity, electronic publications, international issues, media, membership, publications) or working groups, or make your voice heard by running for Society office and voting in Society elections
  • You can take part in AFS special projects restricted to members  (For example, as part of the Society’s Veterans History Project partnership, for example, AFS members are now taking part in paid consultancies leading community-based workshops on collecting oral histories from US military veterans)
  • You can join any of AFS’s more than 30 interest-group sections
  • You can receive AFS prizes and AFS section prizes
  • And, coming in the near future, you’ll have exclusive members-only access to the AFS Teaching Resources Archives--a new area of the AFS web site containing syllabi and other course materials contributed by AFS members
AFS Membership Fees for 2008


To become a member of AFS, you may use our secure online membership form, or download a printable form you can mail to us, and pay the following annual dues.

Regular $100
Independent (Must be a member of the AFS Independent Folklorists' Section) $80
Retired (Must have been a regular member of AFS for at least 10 years before retirement) $80
New Professional (Not in full-time employment, and within 5 years after your professional degree or otherwise new to the profession of folklore) $65
Partner (of member)1 $35
Student2 $35
Sustainer $150
Sponsor $250
Benefactor $500
Life $1,500

1 Partner members do not receive publications.

2 Applicants for student membership must include a copy of their student IDs.

AFS Section Membership


Sections of the AFS are groups within the Society organized around specific interests. For the benefit of their members, sections publish newsletters and other publications, sponsor program sessions at AFS annual meetings, award prizes for outstanding work, and offer the opportunity for professional and personal contact.

Many sections charge annual dues, and they are listed on the membership forms (online and printable). To find out about the activities of AFS sections, click here.