Richard M. Dorson was born in New York City in 1916. When he was thirteen years old he was enrolled at Phillips Exeter Academy, where he studied for four years, leaving in 1933. He then went on to study at Harvard University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Ph.D. Dorson received the Harvard Sheldon Traveling Fellowship for 1942 to 1943, and also began teaching for Harvard University as a professor of history in 1943.
In 1944, he became a professor of history and folklore at Michigan State University. Richard M. Dorson’s passion was folklore and Michigan, with its diverse population of heritages and cultures, was a perfect place to gather the folktales and traditions of many different kinds of people. He would talk to people in many different kinds of settings, such as people’s homes, churches, bars, salons, community centers, and even hotel lobbies to gather different folktales. During this time he also researched African American folktales and oral customs in southwest Michigan, which became very important because it gave a view into how culture can be affected by region. From his research he published many books, which include “American Negro Folktales”, Negro Folktales in Michigan”, and “Negro Folktales from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Calvin, Michigan.”
He left Michigan State University in 1957 and went on to teach history and folklore at Indiana University. He was also given the position of Chairman of the Committee on Folklore at that time. When, in 1963, Indiana University founded its Folklore Institute, Richard Dorson became the very first director and the first Chairman of the Folklore Department in 1978.
Richard Dorson is sometimes known as the father of American folklore. His work often dealt with how folklore and culture tied together along with history. Because of his dedication and hard work, he won many awards in his lifetime. In 1946, he won a Library of Congress in History of American Civilization and three Guggenheim Fellowships in 1949, 1964, and 1971. In 1952 and 1961, he won fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and in the year of 1978-1979 he was a fellow at the National Humanities Center’s Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.
Richard Dorson also had many visiting professorships. He was a Fulbright Visiting Professor in American Studies at the University of Tokyo in 1956. He taught a semester at the University of California, Berkley in 1968 and a semester at the University of Pennsylvania in 1980.
Over his lifetime Dorson published a multitude of books and articles. Some of his books include American Folklore and the Historian, British Folklorists: A History, Buying the Wind: Regional Folklore in the United States, Folk Legends of Japan, and Davy Crocket, American Comic Legend just to name a few. He served as an editor for many other books, including Folklore and Folklife: An Introduction and Handbook of American Folklore.
Richard Dorson was very active with the American Folklore Societies’ magazine called “Journal of American folklore”. He was an editor for them between 1957 and 1962, became their president between 1966 and 1968 and served as their representative to the American Council of Learned Societies in the years 1969 through 1973. He was active with many other societies too. He was the vice president of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research from 1959 to 1964 and was the vice president of the International Society of Ethnology and Folklore from 1964 to 1971.
Richard Dorson died in 1981 while still working as a professor of history and folklore at Indiana University.
References:
Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. 19 April 2004
Former link, http://www.letrs.indiana.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?type=simple;view=text;subview=fulltext;c=fa-lilly;id=LMC1320 (2007)
Michigan Heritage Awards. June 2003.
http://www.museum.msu.edu/s-program/MH_awards/awards/2003RD.html
Michigan State College Folklore Collection. June 2003.
http://www.museum.msu.edu/s-program/mtap/Collections/dorson.html
The Bangladesh Observer. 08 September 2003. http://www.bangladeshobserveronline.com/new/2003/09/08/entertainment.htm
Written by: Amber M. Nichols, 2004