Dr. Stephen Fjellman has worked in the field of Anthropology for nearly thirty years. During that time, he has become known for his publications, teaching and a major book “Vinyl Leaves”. Dr. Fjellman was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he lived six short weeks before starting a journey which took him across the country. He spent the majority of his childhood on the East Coast and considers New England home. He attended Hotchkiss, a private K-12 school located in Lakeville, Connecticut, and participated in a number of sports during high school. He subsequently went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Yale University in 1965 and his Doctorate from Stanford University in 1971.
He started his teaching career in 1971 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University. In 1978 he moved on to Florida International University as an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology. He was made a Full Professor in 1990 and continues his teaching at Florida International University (FIU). In addition to his teaching, he is also the Associate Dean for the Honors College at FIU, member of the Faculty Senate, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Academy for the Art of Teaching. In addition to these positions, he is also department chair and has coordinated the Summer Study Abroad Program in Italy for the last three years.
The work he is most known for is a 1992 book titled Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World and America. This book is based on the American perception and fascination with Walt Disney World. In this book, he goes on to tell the reader what everything portrayed at the park means plus what we as a society see the certain amusements as and why we see them that way. He presents every item in the utmost detail and describes how nothing is incidental. All placement and design of every event is highly scripted including the employees who work at Walt Disney World. This is a fascinating book and makes the reader question some of the American values and determination to get away to a “clean” environment. In addition to writing this book, Dr. Fjellman has also published a number of journal articles and has a few unpublished books.
Dr. Fjellman enjoys anthropology most because it is “a way of looking at the world such that I am always in the field, always a participant observer.” He no longer is as interested in the issues of his profession but now is more interested in being an intellectual historian and states his most liked thing is being able to teach others. Now days his most intellectual interest is in anything Italian such as the Romans, Renaissance and the Medieval World.
He says that the most interesting things about anthropology are “the anthropological world view that makes everything grist for the mill and the world geography and history that we need to learn to teach it.” In his free time, Dr. Fjellman is an avid reader and in his words, is a sports freak. His newest project is a quest to see a game in all of the professional baseball parks in the U.S. and Canada including all majors, official minors and independent leagues. He currently has been to 171 different parks and has estimated that he has about 120 remaining.
Dr. Steven Fjellman has dedicated his life to the study of Anthropology and teaching others what he has learned. This passion and dedication to those around him has affected everyone who has taken one of his classes or has read his book.
Fjellman, Stephen M. Email correspondence. 25 May 2000 - 15 June 2000.
"Resume." Fjellman http://www.fiu.edu/orgs/socant/faculty.htm 15 June 2000.
“Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World and America, by Stephen M. Fjellman." Jad Donohoe’s Review http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/enam312/enam712/donohoe.html 15 June 2000.
"Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World and America, by Stephen M. Fjellman." Matthew Gibson’s Review http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/enam312/enam712/712gibs.html 15 June 2000.
Written By: Timothy Huebsch