USC Today

Tok Thompson

Expert in mythology, folklore, superstitions, beliefs and the meanings behind holidays.
  • Professor of Anthropology and Communications
  • USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Office: 213-740-5195

Expertise

  • Folklore (including internet folklore)
  • Mythology
  • Superstitions
  • Ghosts and ghost belief
  • Aliens and Alien belief
  • Posthumanism (AI/cyborg as well as Animal Studies/Ethology)
  • Native American societies and cultures
  • Indigenous and minority languages and world-views
  • Irish language, culture, politics, history, folklore
  • Mashups, memes, cyber culture
  • Holidays
  • Irish (Gaelic)
  • Scottish Gaelic (partial fluency)
  • some Amharic (Ethiopia)
  • some Dena’ina (Alaskan Dene)