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Richard M. Dorson (1916–1981)

Auteur van American Folklore

38+ Werken 1,039 Leden 5 Besprekingen

Over de Auteur

In 1957, Richard M. Dorson replaced Stith Thompson as the head of folklore studies at Indiana University, establishing himself as a major scholar and perhaps the foremost influence in the field. Dorson is often called the father of American folklore. In addition, he is given credit for bringing toon meer about an international or cross-cultural approach to the subject. Dorson was editor of the Journal of American Folklore (1959-63), president of the American Folklore Society (1967-68), and author of numerous studies on the subject. His textbook, American Folklore (1959), which employs a historical approach, was the first comprehensive study of the subject. In it he attempted to bring about what he calls a hemispheric theory, wherein the disciplines of both folklore and history are combined, stressing the intimate bonds between the culture of the folk and the history of the American experience. It is still recognized as a classic work. (Bowker Author Biography) toon minder
Fotografie: Photo courtesy of Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Werken van Richard M. Dorson

American Folklore (1959) 136 exemplaren
American Negro folktales (1967) 99 exemplaren
Folktales Told Around the World (1975) 66 exemplaren
Folk Legends of Japan (1962) 64 exemplaren
African folklore (1972) 31 exemplaren
Land of the Millrats (1981) 17 exemplaren
American folklore & the historian (1971) 14 exemplaren
Folklore: selected essays (1972) 4 exemplaren
Negro folktales in Michigan (1974) 1 exemplaar

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Folktales of England (1965) — Voorwoord — 129 exemplaren
Folktales of Hungary (1965) — Voorwoord — 41 exemplaren
Latter-day Lore: Mormon Folklore Studies (2013) — Medewerker — 7 exemplaren
The bear went over the mountain (1964) — Medewerker — 6 exemplaren

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SHCG | Jun 5, 2018 |
This book was a lot of fun. Dorson traveled all over the Upper Peninsula back in the 40s to record old folklore and tall tales before they vanished. Mainly he recorded: Lumberjack lore, Mining lore, Great Lakes superstitions, and Native American folklore. Many of the tales can find their origins in Europe as many of the early settlers were French, Cornish, Finnish and Swedish. These tales were changed in subtle ways to reflect the new environment of the storyteller. However a good number of the tales are original North American lore.

The book is full of tales of north woods sorcerers, larger than life lumberjacks, curses, creatures from Indian folklore and ghosts that lived in the mines. The lumberjack part was by far the funniest. It really hit home
how different men are today -- perhaps for the poorer. These guys were rougher than you would ever believe, yet they still lived by a strict code of honor. In fact, they were almost like Vikings; they wore their hair long, cherished their double-headed axes like prized heirlooms, drank like
fish and fought like bears. Like the old west, this is what happens to men when there are no women around, or very few.

The book goes on to describe a series of infamous lumberjacks. Lumberjacks made a name for themselves by accomplishing great feats of strength or by being downright crazy. An example of the latter was P. K. Small. He was a big freak of a man who was born with two rows of teeth! His eyes were slightly crossed. He rarely talked, only chuckled. Whenever he got in a fight, he usually took off someone's nose or ears with his teeth. The lumber camps were full of men with missing or chewed ears and
noses, casualties of Small. He also has a strange tolerance to pain. While trying to bite off a man's finger, the other man gouged one of Small's eyes out and left it hanging in his cheek. It didn't bother small, so the man
gouged out the other eye. Eventually Small let go and popped his eyes back in. This is just one example. There were others that made Small look downright civilized. Many lumberjacks were missing toes. This isn't from mishaps with an axe; it's from getting blind drunk, passing out in the snow, and getting frostbite.

The book was a lot of fun. At times it got a wee bit dry, as tales can vary in excitement, but over all it was fascinating and entertaining.
… (meer)
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Dead_Dreamer | 1 andere bespreking | Jan 12, 2010 |
Regional Folklore of the USA: By contemporary standards, this book is dated and perhaps a bit politically incorrect and simplistic. But the book is a valuable archive of fascinating folktales, beliefs, and descriptions of regionally-based forms of traditional culture in the United States. Dorson provides a great variety of stories that are well-worth reading, and they could provide the basis for further study. I found it especially interesting how Dorson was showing ways to integrate the study of folklore into the study of history and geography with this collection of materials. I also found this book to be interesting as a resource for gauging how the thinking of social scientists and humanities scholars has changed over the past 30 years. It also provides a great resource for comparing how regional folklore has changed throughout a sort period of time in this nation.… (meer)
 
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iayork | Aug 9, 2009 |

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Statistieken

Werken
38
Ook door
6
Leden
1,039
Populariteit
#24,780
Waardering
3.8
Besprekingen
5
ISBNs
63
Talen
1

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