His work

He holds a professorship in Popular Culture at Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...

 and is Director of the Bowling Green Center for Culture Studies. His work has primarily focused on ritual, celebrations, and holidays as well as occupational culture and popular music. He has been a featured expert on a television special produced by The History Channel

The History Channel

History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...

, about Hallowe'en.

Along with Paul Wagoner, Santino produced Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle

Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle

Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle is a 1982 documentary film about a group of Pullman car porters who organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters - claimed to be the first African American trade union. The film examines issues of work, race and dignity...

a film, winner of four regional Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

s on African American Pulman car unionisation.

From 1996 to 2000 Santino was the editor of the Journal of American Folklore

Journal of American Folklore

The Journal of American Folklore is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Folklore Society. Since 2003 this has been done on its behalf by the University of Illinois Press. The journal has been published since the society's founding in 1888. It publishes on a quarterly schedule...

. During 2002-3 Santino was the President of the American Folklore Society

American Folklore Society

The American Folklore Society is the US-based professional association for folklorists, with members from the US, Canada, and around the world. It was founded in 1888 by William Wells Newell, who stood at the center of a diverse group of university-based scholars, museum anthropologists, and men...

.

Early life

He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on August 1, 1947.and received a bachelor's degree in English at Boston College

Boston College

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...

. He then studied Folklore at the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1978. His thesis was entitled "The outlaw emotions : workers' narratives from three contemporary occupations".
He has nine published books listed in WorldCat. He has three children: Ian, Will and Hannah.

Books

• Santino, Jack. Spontaneous Shrines and Public Memorializations of Death. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
• Santino, Jack, and Cristina Sánchez-Carretero. Holidays, ritual, festival, celebration, and public display. Biblioteca de estudios norteamericanos, 7. Alcalá de Henares: Universidad de Alcalá, 2003.
• Santino, Jack. Signs of War and Peace: Social Conflict and the Use of Public Symbols in Northern Ireland. New York: Palgrave, 2001.
• Santino, Jack. The Hallowed Eve: Dimensions of Culture in a Calendar Festival in Northern Ireland. Irish literature, history, and culture. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky, 1998.
• Santino, Jack. New Old-Fashioned Ways: Holidays and Popular Culture. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1996.
• Santino, Jack. Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1994.
• Santino, Jack. All Around the Year: Holidays and Celebrations in American Life. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994.
• Santino, Jack. Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle
  Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle
  Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle is a 1982 documentary film about a group of Pullman car porters who organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters - claimed to be the first African American trade union. The film examines issues of work, race and dignity...
  
  : Stories of Black Pullman Porters. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989.
• Santino, Jack. Healing, Magic, and Religion. Los Angeles, Calif: California Folklore Society, 1985.