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Tok Thompson

Associate Professor of Teaching, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
In the Fall of 2006, Tok came to USC, where he has been teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in folklore and related topics. Additionally, he has taught folklore as a visiting professor at universities in Northern Ireland, Iceland, and Ethiopia. While still in graduate school, he co-founded and co-edited the journal Cultural Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Forum on Folklore and Popular Culture, which he co-edited for 15 years. From 2013-2017 he was the editor for Western Folklore. He is currently working on a textbook for World Mythology (with Greg Schrempp), and a casebook entitled Posthuman Folklore.

Why believing in ghosts can make you a better person

Oct 28, 2018 11:58 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

Halloween is a time when ghosts and spooky decorations are on public display, reminding us of the realm of the dead. But could they also be instructing us in important lessons on how to lead moral lives? Roots of...

Economy

Oil Prices Dip as Trump Eyes Iran De-escalation, Hormuz Closure Persists

Oil prices retreated in Asian trading on Tuesday after early gains faded, driven by reports that U.S. President Donald Trump was weighing an end to military operations against Iran. However, losses remained modest as...

Australia Bans Card Payment Surcharges Starting October 2025

The Reserve Bank of Australia has officially ended card payment surcharges, delivering long-awaited financial relief to millions of Australian consumers. Following an extensive public review, the RBA announced that...

Bank of Korea Nominee Shin Hyun-song Calls for Flexible Monetary Policy Amid Iran War Risks

South Koreas nominee for Bank of Korea (BOK) governor, Shin Hyun-song, emphasized the need for an adaptable monetary policy stance on Tuesday, citing escalating risks tied to the ongoing Iran war as the primary threat to...

Iran Strikes Oil Tanker Near Dubai Amid U.S. Threats and Ongoing Middle East Conflict

Iran launched an attack on a fully loaded crude oil tanker off the coast of Dubai on Monday, setting the Kuwait-flagged vessel Al-Salmi ablaze in one of the most dramatic escalations since the United States and Israel...

WTO Ministerial Collapse Leaves Global Digital Trade Rules in Limbo

Four days of high-stakes trade negotiations in Yaoundé, Cameroon ended in deadlock during the early hours of Monday, as World Trade Organization member states failed to agree on a reform agenda or renew a...

Politics

California's AI Executive Order Pushes Responsible Tech Use in State Contracts

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a landmark executive order Monday, setting new standards for artificial intelligence governance in state contracting. The directive requires companies seeking government contracts to...

FBI Labels Michigan Synagogue Attack as Hezbollah-Inspired Terrorism

Federal authorities have officially classified the March 12 attack on Michigans largest Jewish temple as an act of terrorism motivated by pro-Hezbollah ideology. The FBIs Detroit field office confirmed the designation on...

Trump Administration Resumes Partial Asylum Processing After Temporary Halt

The Trump administration has announced it will resume processing certain asylum applications following a temporary suspension that was triggered by a high-profile shooting involving an asylum seeker. U.S. Citizenship and...

Trump's Name Spreads Across America: Airports, Warships, and Currency

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday renaming Palm Beach International Airport after former and current President Donald Trump, marking yet another addition to a growing list of American institutions,...

Israel Passes Death Penalty Law Targeting Palestinians in Military Courts

Israels parliament has approved a controversial new law establishing hanging as the default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of carrying out deadly attacks. The legislation, championed by far-right...

Science

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Technology

Cybersecurity Stocks Tumble After Anthropic's Claude Mythos AI Leak Sparks Market Fears

Major cybersecurity stocks took a sharp hit Friday following reports that Anthropic accidentally exposed details about its next-generation AI model before its official launch. CrowdStrike fell 7%, Palo Alto Networks...

Chinese Universities with PLA Ties Found Purchasing Restricted U.S. AI Chips Through Super Micro Servers

Procurement records reveal that four Chinese universities, two of which have direct ties to the Peoples Liberation Army, acquired Super Micro Computer servers loaded with restricted Nvidia AI chips over the past year. The...

Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon's Blacklisting of AI Company Anthropic

A federal judge has temporarily prevented the Pentagon from enforcing its designation of Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk, dealing an early blow to the Trump administration in a growing dispute over...

SMIC Allegedly Supplies Chipmaking Tools to Iran's Military, U.S. Officials Warn

Chinas top semiconductor manufacturer, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), has reportedly been transferring chipmaking equipment to Irans military industrial complex, according to two senior Trump...

Google's TurboQuant Algorithm Sends Memory Chip Stocks Tumbling

Major memory chipmakers took a significant hit on Thursday after Google researchers introduced a groundbreaking compression algorithm that threatens to reduce artificial intelligence demand for memory chips. Samsung...