Maria Kennedy is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of American Studies at Rutgers University New Brunswick where she oversees the certificate in Curation and Cultural Programming. She teaches classes on topics including American Folklore, Cultural Media Production (Podcasting and Sound Cultures); American Food, and Cultural Event Planning.
Dr. Kennedy studies the theory and practice of folklore and public humanities, with interests in landscape, agriculture, food studies, performance theory, festival, folk arts, and anthropology of media. Her upcoming book project explores the interplay of cultural heritage and environmental conservation in rural Britain through examination of orchard landscapes and the craft cider industry. She continues ethnographic research on changing rural landscapes in Europe and North America. She is a member of the performing group Ukrainian Village Voices based in Manhattan and has emerging interests in Ukraine and its diasporas.
Dr. Kennedy received her PhD from Indiana University’s Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology in 2017. She worked previously at The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes, Traditional Arts Indiana, and WJFF Radio Catskill, and has moonlighted in the cider and wine industries. From 2018 - 2024, Dr. Kennedy served as Administrative Director and Co-Director of the New Jersey Folk Festival at Rutgers University, and she was a board member for New York Folklore from 2016 - 2024. For more about Dr. Kennedy's research and projects, visit www.ciderwithmaria.com