Constance Bailey

Hailing from Natchez, MS, Dr. Constance Bailey is an Assistant Professor of African American Literature and Folklore. She completed her B.A. at Alcorn State University in 2002. She also attended the University of Missouri, receiving an M.A. in English with an emphasis in Folklore and Oral Tradition and a doctorate, with an emphasis in African Diaspora Studies. She is currently working on her first manuscript, Predicament: The Black Collegian in Popular Culture. In addition to her own research, Dr. Bailey is co-editing a special edition of Western Folklore titled Folklore and the Fetish. She, and two other folklorists, are working on a proposal for an edited collection of scholarly essays titled Get It While It’s Hot: Gas Stations, Convenience Stores, and Southern Cuisine.

Dr. Bailey is an active member of the American Folklore Society, American Humor Studies Association, and the College Language Association, where she currently serves as Treasurer. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Society for the Study of Southern Literature.
Dr. Bailey’s research interests extend beyond the classroom to public scholarship. She and co-host Dr. Jo Hsu of University of Texas-Austin, host a podcast about academia- Unpack This, a podcast about academic misfits.