Jason Baird Jackson

Jason Baird Jackson is Ruth N. Halls Professor of Folklore and Anthropology at Indiana University Bloomington, with appointments in both the Department of Anthropology and Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology within the College of Arts & Sciences. He directs the Material Culture and Heritage Studies Laboratory and has been actively engaged in teaching and research since earning his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1998.

• Ruth N. Halls Professor, Folklore and Anthropology
• Faculty member, Department of Anthropology
• Faculty member, Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology
• Director, Material Culture and Heritage Studies Laboratory
• Editor, Museum Anthropology Review

Professor Jackson is a folklorist and ethnologist whose work bridges folklore studies, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, ethnohistory, and museum studies. His research focuses on customary arts, practices, and beliefs within social life, with particular attention to Eastern North American Native communities. Since 1993, he has maintained a research relationship with the Yuchi people of Oklahoma, and since 2013 has also worked in Southwest China. His scholarship explores intellectual property, cultural heritage policy, and museum practices, especially in art and ethnographic contexts.

His recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on material culture, Indigenous knowledge systems, and the intersections between museum collections and contemporary Indigenous life. Jackson's work shows increasing attention to the basketry industry in upland Southwest China and community rituals shaping historical consciousness among Native peoples of Eastern North America.

• Fellow of the American Folklore Society (2019)
• IU Trustees Teaching Award (2015)
• GPSO/IU Graduate School Faculty Mentor Award (2010-11)

Professor Jackson has served as editor of Museum Anthropology (2005-2009) and founded the open-access journal Museum Anthropology Review. His teaching includes courses on Curatorship, Theories of Material Culture, and Advanced Seminar for Undergraduate Majors. He has been actively engaged in examining the implications of AI and large language models for folklore studies and scholarly societies, particularly regarding ethical concerns about cultural knowledge appropriation.

His current research focuses on the intersections of museum collections and Indigenous life in the Native South, with two major book projects underway: one on community rituals and historical consciousness among Eastern North American Native peoples, and another (co-authored with Lijun Zhang) on the basketry industry in upland Southwest China.