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to the study of what he termed “the underculture, in contrast with the elite, the uppercrust, the official, the formal culture.” Dorson viewed himself, first and foremost, as a historian, and he was suspicious of attempts by other disciplines—anthropology, sociology, and psychology, among others—to co-opt folk culture for their own theoretical purposes. Folklore, he argued, was firmly rooted in human history and should be studied empirically as a means of expanding knowledge of that history; to that end, he repeatedly emphasized the necessity for the accurate collection and documentation of folk materials. At a time when quasi-legendary
American folk heroes like Davy Crockett and Paul Bunyan were increasingly being popularized and commercialized by the mass media, Dorson placed himself squarely in opposition to what he termed “fakelore,” what might be called the Disneyfication of folk traditions; he dismissed anything he suspected of being less than genuine. That attitude extended to the so-called folk-music revival of the mid-twentieth century—to the mock dismay of many of his guitar-picking students.
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Africa and Japan, from the religious narratives of the
Puritans to the urban legends of college students, from international folktales of the world to the personal experience narratives of Indiana steelworkers. But from his early writings on Davy Crockett and Brother Jonathan to his final book on fabulous men and beasts in American comic legends, the work which clearly seemed closest to his heart was the romantic-nationalistic attempt to discover in American folklore those traits and sentiments that are peculiarly and uniquely American.
31:
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to
Bloomington, who revolutionized American folklore research. He was the general editor of the "Folktales of the World" (1963–1973), a multivolume series published by the University of Chicago Press. He served an advisory editor of the series "International Folklore" (48 vols., 1977), as well as the
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Dorson, in much the same manner as
European romantic-nationalistic folklorists, set himself the patriotic task of discovering and making known the genius of his country's national spirit. Throughout his research career, Dorson moved freely across space and time--from the United States and England to
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Dorson gained international recognition as the dean of
American folklife studies and was credited with transforming folklore from a field of tangential interest to a scholarly discipline in its own right. He was an intense and prodigious researcher and writer with seemingly boundless energy, devoted
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Dorson's papers are held at the Lilly
Library of Indiana University. Audio recordings from his fieldwork can be found at the Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University. In addition to his several books, Dorson also edited the
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as fakelore, or "a synthetic product claiming to be authentic oral tradition but actually tailored for mass edification", which "misled and gulled the public". Dorson's fieldwork touched upon
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where he earned his A.B., M.A., in history, and his Ph.D. degree in the
History of American Civilization in 1942. He began teaching as an instructor of history at Harvard in 1943. He moved to
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series editor of "Folklore of the World" (38 vols., 1980). In addition, he contributed articles to numerous scholarly and popular periodicals. From 1957 to 1962 he edited the
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as professor of history and folklore as well as that of chairman of the
Committee on Folklore. He taught at Indiana until his death. He brought the eminent folklorist
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Dorson contributed two terms to the study of folklore that have gained common currency. The first is "
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awarded him the
Michigan Heritage Award posthumously for his Michigan-based fieldwork contributions.
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Mechling, Jay. "Richard M. Dorson and the Emergence of the New Class in American Folk Studies."
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215:"; meaning a modern "story which never happened told for true". Dorson also coined the word "
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199:, field collector, library scholar". Dorson also wrote that "no subject of study in the
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Dorson criticized the commercialization of folk traditions, specifically that of
255:(1949, 1964, and 1971). In 2003, the Michigan Traditional Arts Program of the
247:, and other topics. Among other academic recognitions, Dorson was awarded the
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series, published between 1963 and 1979 by the University of Chicago Press.
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Peasant Customs and Savage Myths: Selections from the British Folklorists
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Folklore and Fakelore: Essays toward a Discipline of Folk Studies
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Folklore Research Around the World: A North American Point of View
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Folklore and Fakelore: Essays toward a Discipline of Folk Studies
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Wilson, William A. "Richard M. Dorson as Romantic-Nationalist."
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William A. Wilson, "Richard M. Dorson as Romantic-Nationalist."
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American Rebels: Personal narratives of the American Revolution
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Ben-Amos, Dan. "The Historical Folklore of Richard M. Dorson."
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Negro Folktales from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Calvin, Michigan
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award in History of American Civilization in 1946, and three
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Dorson's study of American folklore involved several roles; "
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in 1944 staying there until 1957 when he took a position at
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Guide to the Richard Dorson papers in the Lilly Library
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Buying the Wind: Regional Folklore in the United States
116:(March 12, 1916 – September 11, 1981) was an American
132:" and "the dominant force in the study of folklore".
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Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
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Richard M. Dorson papers, 1939–1982, bulk 1962–1977
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140:Dorson was born in New York City into a wealthy
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203:today is more misunderstood than folklore".
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739:Presidents of the American Folklore Society
622:. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
472:Minnesota State University, Mankato eMuseum
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128:. Dorson has been called the "father of
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714:Indiana University Bloomington faculty
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551:Straight Dope Science Advisory Board.
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403:Folklore and Folklife: An Introduction
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262:According to Anne Keene, at Indiana:
223:. Dorson dismissed Stevens' book on
553:What's so urban about urban legends?
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665:at the Indiana University Archives.
391:American Folklore and the Historian
349:American Folklore and the Historian
296:Davy Crocket, American Comic Legend
172:. He was elected president of the
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734:20th-century American male writers
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729:American male non-fiction writers
709:Michigan State University faculty
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494:. URL accessed January 19, 2019.
492:Michigan Traditional Arts Program
120:, professor, and director of the
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415:Folklore and Traditional History
257:Michigan State University Museum
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559:. URL accessed April 21, 2006.
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99:Folklorist, professor, director
16:American folklorist (1916–1981)
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474:. URL accessed April 21, 2006
385:British Folklorists: A History
271:According to William Wilson:
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488:Michigan Heritage Awards 2003
440:Handbook of American Folklore
318:University of Wisconsin Press
314:Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers
670:Journal of Folklore Research
647:Journal of Folklore Research
608:Journal of Folklore Research
591:Journal of Folklore Research
421:Folklore in the Modern World
170:Journal of Folklore Research
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638:Americab National Biography
486:Michigan State University.
331:Negro Folktales in Michigan
302:Jonathan Draws the Long Bow
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219:" in a debate with author
144:family. He studied at the
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233:African-American folklore
207:Contributions to folklore
174:American Folklore Society
157:Michigan State University
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618:Dorson, Richard (1976).
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373:American Negro Folktales
227:, and the later work of
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704:Harvard College alumni
466:June 10, 2008, at the
288:Folktales of the World
253:Guggenheim Fellowships
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355:Folk Legends of Japan
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114:Richard Mercer Dorson
699:American folklorists
659:48#4 (1989): 349–57.
433:Land of the Millrats
459:Nichols, Amber M.
249:Library of Congress
151:He then went on to
148:from 1929 to 1933.
513:Indiana University
316:(reprinted by the
239:, folklore of the
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161:Indiana University
153:Harvard University
126:Indiana University
122:Folklore Institute
77:Harvard University
56:September 11, 1981
47:New York, New York
461:Richard M. Dorson
409:America in Legend
343:American Folklore
245:folklore of Japan
130:American folklore
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107:Study of folklore
35:Richard M. Dorson
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58:(1981-09-11)
694:1981 deaths
689:1916 births
641:online 2010
225:Paul Bunyan
185:Paul Bunyan
65:Nationality
683:Categories
229:Ben Botkin
193:polemicist
165:Linda DĂ©gh
118:folklorist
73:Education
464:Archived
320:in 2008)
237:Michigan
217:fakelore
68:American
674:online
651:online
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612:online
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197:critic
142:Jewish
136:Career
447:Notes
624:ISBN
53:Died
41:Born
555:.
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235:in
124:at
89:PhD
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85:MA
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81:BA
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79:(
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