Teaching: Professor Thomas is an award-wining teacher who teaches courses in Folklore—including Legend and the Supernatural, Material Culture, and Folklore Theory and Methods. Administration: Professor Thomas was Director of the Folklore Program from 2003-2008. She also served as Interim Department Head for Interior Design from 2006-2008. Currently, she is Interim Associate Dean of the Arts in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at USU. Research: Presently Professor Thomas is doing research on dark tourism and legends. She has published articles about dumb blonde jokes, Barbie, Hillary Clinton, Jim Morrison's grave in Paris, and supernatural legends.
Articles
Review of Susan Stern’s film, Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour, Journal of American Folklore (2001)
Bluegrass and ‘White Trash’: A Case Study Concerning the Name ‘Folklore’ and Class
Bias (with Doug Enders), Journal of Folklore Research (2000)
Stone Angels, Naked Mourners, and Various Virgins: Statues, Legends, and the Gendering of Intimacy, Contemporary Legend (2000)
Books
Haunting Experiences: Ghosts in Contemporary Folklore (with Diane E. Goldstein and Sylvia Ann Grider), All USU Press Publications (2007)
Ghosts and the supernatural appear throughout modern culture, in any number of entertainment, commercial, and...
Naked Barbies, Warrior Joes, and Other Forms of Visible Gender, Naked Barbies, Warrior Joes, and Other Forms of Visible Gender (2003)
Featherless Chickens, Laughing Women, and Serious Stories, Featherless Chickens, Laughing Women, and Serious Stories (1997)
Contributions to Books
Instructions for Installing Blinds, Folklore Muse:
Poetry, Fiction, and Other Reflections by Folklorists (2008)
Salem, Massachusetts, Playground at Gallows Hill, Folklore Muse:
Poetry, Fiction, and Other Reflections by Folklorists (2008)