Roger Abrahams

Roger Abrahams, Gr’61, the Hum Rosen Professor in Folklore and Folk Literature in English Emeritus, died on June 20 at age 84.

Dr. Abrahams earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Swarthmore College in 1955, a master’s degree in literature and folklore from Columbia University in 1959 and a doctorate in literature and folklore from Penn in 1961. His dissertation, “Negro Folklore from South Philadelphia,” led to the creation of a separate department of folklore and folklife at Penn. It also became the book, Deep Down in the Jungle: Negro Narrative Folklore from the Streets of Philadelphia, published in 1964. During his student years, Dr. Abrahams became involved in the New York folk music scene. He sang on the Folkways album Foc’sle Songs and Shanties, released in 1959, and recorded his own album, Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor and Other Folk Songs, released in 1962. He also worked as an editor and writer at the folk music magazine Caravan.

He joined Penn’s department of folklore and folklife in 1985. He was named the Hum Rosen Professor of Folklore and Folk Literature in 1989. He was the inaugural director of the Center for Folklore and Ethnography, which opened in 1999 with the closing of the folklore and folklife department. That year, his home department changed to English. He became professor emeritus in 2002 (Almanac May 7, 2002).

Dr. Abrahams was president of the American Folkore Society in 1979. In 1988 he was awarded AFS’s Centennial Award for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement in 1988 and in 2005, he was awarded its Kenneth S. Goldstein Award for his contributions to strengthening folklore in higher education

Dr. Abrahams is survived by his wife, Janet; his son, Rod; his daughter, Lisa Abrahams; and a sister, Marjorie Slavin.