Rory Turner

Rory Turner is Professor of Practice in the Center for People, Politics, and Markets at Goucher College, where he teaches in the Sociology & Anthropology program and leads the Master of Arts in Cultural Sustainability. He previously served as Program Director for Folk and Traditional Arts and as Program Initiative Specialist at the Maryland State Arts Council, co-founding and directing Maryland Traditions (2000–2007) and founding the Baltimore Rhythm Festival.

Education

• Ph.D., Anthropology, Indiana University Bloomington, 1998
• M.A., Anthropology, Indiana University Bloomington, 1990
• A.B., Brown University, 1986

Research & Creative Work

Turner’s scholarship centers on building sustainable communities through deep ethnographic engagement and ethical partnership. His work blends literary, theoretical, and ethnographic writing with the creation of public programs—such as festivals and audio documentaries—that foster empathy, cultural understanding, and transformative community experiences.

Publications & Creative Output

Across four decades, Turner has produced a rich body of work spanning journal articles, book chapters, book reviews, documentary projects, and ethnographic poetry. Recurring themes include cultural sustainability, environmental humanities, critical empathy, communitas, and the performative dimensions of heritage. His recent co-authored article in the Journal of American Folklore frames cultural sustainability as praxis grounded in relational ethics, while earlier pieces explore Civil War reenactments, West African masquerades, and Baltimore’s folk arts.

Conferences & Invited Talks

• Keynote, American Folklore Society Annual Conference, Providence, 2013
• Featured speaker, Performing Diverse Environmentalisms Symposium, Indiana University, 2017
• Panel organizer & presenter, multiple American Folklore Society and AAA meetings

Community Engagement & Festivals

Since 2014 Turner has co-directed the Baltimore Rhythm Festival, an annual celebration of global percussion traditions that models applied folklore and community-building through performance.