Alan Dundes
Alan Dundes
Alan Dundes was a folklorist at the University of California, Berkeley. His work was said to have been central to establishing the study of folklore as an academic discipline. He wrote 12 books, both academic and popular, and edited or co-wrote two dozen more. One of his most notable articles was called "Seeing is Believing" in which he indicated that Americans value the sense of sight more than the other senses...
american-educator beware cramp exist tend via
We should beware of stereotypes as they tend to cramp thinking, but on the other hand, stereotypes exist and they are often transmitted via folklore.
american-educator courses folklore involving original paper require research term
There is more to folklore research than fieldwork. This is why in all of my other upper-division courses I require a term paper involving original research.
american-educator anyone collection consists create family fieldwork folklore manage persuade project serve term
Their term project consists of a fieldwork collection of folklore that they create by interviewing family members, friends, or anyone they can manage to persuade to serve as an informant.
almost american-educator believe certainly kernel progress truth
Americans do believe in progress and there is almost certainly a kernel of truth in the joke.
above american-educator analysis based collect context course data folklore gather items lecture material merely readings theory
They do not merely collect texts; they must also gather data about the context and the informant and, above all, write an analysis of the items based upon the course readings and lecture material on folklore theory and method.
although american-educator class fairly folklore forward hundred insist learn reading running student tall three
The class has become over the years fairly large, running to three hundred or more, but I always insist upon reading all the student folklore collections myself. Although this is a tall order, I look forward to it because I learn so much from it.
taken past trying
Polls are frequently taken to try to tease out or determine likely directions and trends, but once taken, they belong to the past, requiring that new polls be taken.
expectations progress impossible
Future orientation is combined with a notion and expectation of progress, and nothing is impossible.
light trying culture
In the light of our culture, these are not unreasonable questions and tactics, but if once again, we try to see the lens through which we look, we can see that there is far too great an emphasis placed on the future.
moving cities people
Cities all over the world are getting bigger as more and more people move from rural to urban sites, but that has created enormous problems with respect to environmental pollution and the general quality of life.
religious personal-knowledge class
I have a great advantage over many of my colleagues inasmuch as my students bring with them to class their own personal knowledge of national, regional, religious, ethnic, occupational, and family folklore traditions.
trying students form
In my introductory course, Anthropology 160, the Forms of Folklore, I try to show the students what the major and minor genres of folklore are, and how they can be analyzed.
years identity taught
My academic identity is that of a folklorist, and for many years I have taught only folklore courses.
past disregard
Americans have a penchant for the future and tend to disregard the past.