COLLECTION

Richard M. Dorson papers

Identifier
C289 (local)

Repository
Indiana University Archives

Date
1940 - 1980 (Inclusive dates)
1962 - 1977 (Bulk dates)

Summary

Dr. Richard Dorson is often cited as the father of American folklore. Over his lifetime he published a large collection of books and articles dealing with how folklore and culture are tied together. Dorson founded the Indiana University Folklore Institute in 1963, and became the first director and Chairman of the Folklore Department in 1978. This collection consists of Dr. Dorson’s published articles, correspondence, and research connected to the Gary Project which resulted in the book

Creator and/or Contributor
Richard M. Dorson (creator)

Scope and Content Note

Scope and Content Note

The Richard Dorson papers comprise of 5.4 cubic feet spanning 1940 to 1980. There are three series in this collection, Publications, 1940-1979, The Gary Project, 1975-1976, and Subject files, 1955-1979

The Publications series spans 1940-1979 and includes published articles, manuscripts written by Dorson, correspondence relating to his writings, and book reviews written by Dr. Dorson. Publications include Folklore and Fakelore, (fakelore is a term coined by Dorson), Folklore and Cultural History, Folklore in Michigan, The Identification of Folklore in American Literature, and Oral Tradition and Written History: The Case for the United States

The second series, The Gary Project 1975-1976, includes research materials used in writing the book The Land of the Millrats. These research materials document the culture and folklore of Gary, Indiana, which at the time was largely a steel mill town. This series consists of newspaper clippings from local Gary, Indiana newspapers, audio cassette interviews with townspeople, recorded musical events and recounted local folktales. This series also includes a set of slides from the Gary, Indiana Bicentennial Celebration and Art Auction

The final series, Subject files, 1978-1980, includes materials related to Dr. Dorson’s professional and teaching career. A large set of index cards contained within this series provides a catalog of American folktales, which Dorson has arranged by state. Also present is a list of colleagues and alumni in the field of folklore dated 1979. The Subject files series also contains records related to professional meetings Dorson attended such as the American Folklore Society, Smithsonian Council, and the grant selection of the National Endowment for the Humanities. A presentation given at the Boston Public Library in 1978 and one course syllabus American Folklore in American Civilization are also contained within this series

The Lilly Library at Indiana University holds the bulk of Richard Dorson’s papers. The Lilly Library collection includes publications, journals, photographs, correspondence, presented papers, research, and fieldwork notes. The finding aid for the Dorson mss. collection can be viewed at http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/findingaids/lilly/InU-Li-VAA1247. Indiana University’s Archives of Traditional Music also holds a number of Dorson’s field recordings, many relating to his Gary Project. Consult ATM staff for further information

Administrative/Biographical History Element

Biographical Note

Richard Dorson, 1916-1981, was born in New York City, studied at Phillips Exeter Academy, 1929-1933, and earned his A.B., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. He began his teaching career at Harvard University in 1943, moved to Michigan State University in 1944, and spent the majority of his teaching years at Indiana University, 1957-1981. While at Indiana University he founded the Folklore Institute in 1963 and became the first director and Chairman of the Department of Folklore in 1978

Over the span of his career Dr. Dorson wrote a multitude of books and articles. Dorson received many awards and honors over the years, beginning with the Harvard Sheldon Traveling Fellowship for 1942-1943; the Library of Congress Fellowship in History of American Civilization, 1946; three Guggenheim Fellowships, 1949, 1964 and 1971; and fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies in 1952 and 1961. He received grants from a variety of foundations and institutions including the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Department of Justice

Dr. Dorson was also active in several professional societies and organizations in the field of folklore. He served as editor of the American Folklore Society's Journal of American Folklore, 1957-1962; as president of the society, 1966-1968, and as the society's delegate to the American Council of Learned Societies, 1969-1973. Dorson also served terms as vice president of the International Society of Folk Narrative Research from 1959 to 1964 and of the International Society of Ethnology and Folklore, 1964-1971

System of Arrangement

Arrangement

Collection is organized into three series: Publications, Gary Project, and Subject files

Conditions Governing Access

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research. Advance notice required

Conditions Governing Access

Usage Restrictions

Copyright interests for this collection have not been transferred to the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, contact the Indiana University Archivist

Custodial History

Provenance

Transferred from the Indiana University Folklore Department

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acquisition Information

Accession Information: 2007/047, 2003/055

General Note

Processing Information

Processed by Ashley Howdeshell

Completed in 2010

Appraisal

Appraisal

One cubic foot of non-Dorson publications were removed. Publications by other Indiana University Folklore Department faculty were relocated to the Indiana University Folklore Archives. Course materials from courses not taught by Dorson were relocated to the Indiana University Folklore Archives

Finding Aid URL
http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/findingaids/archives/InU-Ar-VAB8852

Extent
5.4 (cubic feet)
6 (boxes)

Language
English (Languages)

Other Subject Headings
Folklore --Calumet Region (Ill. and Ind.) --History --Sources (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Folklorists --Indiana --Bloomington --Archives (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Calumet Region (Ill. and Ind.) --Social life and customs --History --Sources (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Gary (Ind.) --History --Sources (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Dorson, Richard Mercer, 1961-1981 --Archives. (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Dorson, Richard Mercer, 1961-1981 --Correspondence. (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Indiana University, Bloomington. Folklore Institute --Faculty --Archives. (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))

Preferred Citation
[Item], Richard M. Dorson papers, Collection C289, Office of University Archives and Records Management, Indiana University, Bloomington

Related Entities:

Richard M. Dorson (creator)

Related Objects

Title	Type
The Gary Project, 1975-1976	Series
Newspaper clippings	Subseries
Blacks:	Item
Columns:	Item
Crime in Gary:	Item
Ethnic:	Item
Gary:	Item
Religion	Item
Steel Industry	Item
Themes:	Item
Photocopies of Newspaper Clippings	Subseries
Black Community in Gary: Category II. 1-9	Item
Calendar of Events Complied from Gary Newspapers	Item
Crime in Gary: Category I. 1-13	Item
Crime in Gary continued: Category I. 14-23	Item
Ethnic: Category III. 1	Item
Ethnic continued: Category III. 2-10	Item
Master Index to the Gary Archives Notebooks	Item
Recreation, Migration, and Gary: Category IV, V, IX	Item
The Steel Industry in Gary: Category VIII	Item
Syndicated Columns and Traditional Themes in Conversation: Category VI, VII. 1-10	Item
Traditional Themes in Conversation continued: Category VII. 11-21	Item
Slides	Subseries
Gary Art Auction and Bicentennial	Item
Publications, 1940-1979,undated	Series
Dorson book reviews, 1948-1976,undated	Subseries
Book Reviews – Ba-Bl	Item
Book Reviews – Boa-Bos	Item
Book Reviews – Bow-Br	Item
Book Reviews – Ca-Ch	Item
Book Reviews – Cl-Co	Item
Book Reviews – Da-De	Item
Book Reviews – Do-Dy	Item
Book Reviews – E	Item
Book Reviews – F	Item
Book Reviews – G	Item
Book Reviews – Ha	Item
Book Reviews – Ho-Hu	Item
Book Reviews –A	Item
Book Reviews of Botkin, B. A	Item
Dorson Manuscripts, undated	Subseries
Dorson Papers Switzerland, undated	Item
Introductory Materials The Folktales of Switzerland, undated	Item
Manuscript for Folktales of Sweden– Copy 2, undated	Item
Manuscript for Folktales of Sweden, undated	Item
Manuscript for Folktales of Turkey, undated	Item
Manuscript selections for Folktales of the World, 1964-1973,undated	Item
Spanish Religious Legends, undated	Item
Swiss tales not used in Folktales of Sweden in envelope, undated	Item
Dorson Published Articles, 1940-1979,undated	Subseries
The 1958 Folklore Institute of America, 1959	Item
The 1962 Folklore Institute of America, 1963	Item
Accent on Living, 1959	Item
ACLS Newsletter “Out of Context”, 1952	Item
African and Afro-American Folklore / a Reply to Bascom and Other Misguided Critics, 197?	Item
Afterword, 1973	Item
American English: Some Current Tendencies, 1962	Item
American Folklore Bibliography, 1977	Item
The American Folklore Scene, 1963	Item
American Folklorists in Britain, 1970	Item
American Life-Styles and Legends, 1974	Item
The American Studies Type, 1979	Item
Americas Comic Demigods, 1941	Item
Andrew Lang’s Folklore Interests as Revealed in At the Sign on The Ship, 1952	Item
Anthropologische Theorie, undated	Item
Applied Folklore, undated	Item
Aunt Jane Goudreall, Roup-Garoll Storyteller, 1947	Item
Big City Folklore, 1960	Item
The Birth of American Studies, 1976	Item
Blood Stoppers, 1947	Item
Bogies of American Folklore (comments on), 1961	Item
Bunyan, Paul, 1969	Item
Canadians in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 1950	Item
The Career of John Henry, 1965	Item
Collecting Folklore in Jonesport, Maine, 1957	Item
Collecting in County Kerry, 1953	Item
Come Indian Anecdotes, 1946	Item
Complementary Techniques and Concepts of the Folklorist and the Historian, 1976	Item
Cowboy Folktales about Cowboys Current Folklore Theories, 1972	Item
Current Folklore Theories, 1963	Item
Davy Crockett and the Heroic Age, 1942	Item
The Debate over the Trust Worthiness of Oral Traditional History, 1968	Item
Defining the American Folk Legend, 1971	Item
Dialect Stories of the Upper Peninsula: A New Form of American Folklore, 1948	Item
The Eclipse of Solar Mythology, 1955	Item
El Folklore Y El Acta Nacional De Defensa De La Educacion, 1962	Item
Elsie Clew Parsons: Feminist and Folklorist, 1971	Item
Esthetic Form in British and American Folk Narrative, 1970	Item
The Ethnic Research Survey of Northwest Indiana, undated	Item
Ethnohistory and Ethnic Folklore: Symposium on the Concept of Ethnohistory, 1961	Item
Fakelore, 1969	Item
The First Group of British Folklorists, 1955	Item
Five Directions in American Folklore, 195?	Item
Folk Research in Japan, 1962	Item
Folk Traditions of the Upper Peninsula, 1947	Item
Folklore, 1969	Item
Folklore (Definition: Encyclopedia Britannica), 1974	Item
Folklore (Definition: Encyclopedia Universalis), undated	Item
Folklore (Definition, Source unknown), undated	Item
Folklore and Cultural History, 1961	Item
Folklore and Fakelore, 1950	Item
Folklore and the National Defense Education Act, 1962	Item
Folklore at a Milwaukee Wedding, 1947	Item
Folklore in Higher Education, 1962	Item
Folklore in Maine, 1959	Item
Folklore in Michigan, 1955	Item
Folklore in Periodical Literature, April-June 1949,October-December 1949	Item
Folklore in Periodical Literature, Jan-March 1951,April-June 1951	Item
Folklore in Periodical Literature, Jan-March 1952,April-June 1952	Item
Folklore in Periodical Literature, July-September 1951,October-December 1951	Item
The Folklore of Colleges, 1949	Item
Folklore Studies in England, undated	Item
Folklore Studies in the United States Today, 1951	Item
Folklore vs. Fakelore – Again & Again, 1974	Item
Folkloric Behavior as a Preventive to Heart Disease, undated	Item
Folksongs of the Maine Woods, 1965	Item
The Folktale: A Symposium, 1957	Item
The Folktale Repertoires of Two Maine Lobsterman, 1961	Item
The Folktales-of-the-World Series: Progress Report, 1965	Item
Folktales that Traveled North to Michigan on the Lips of Black People, 1968	Item
A Formacao Da Tradicao Folclorica Nos Estados Unidos, 1967	Item
Forward (to folktales of Mexico), undated	Item
Forward (to Vol. IX #1 of JFI), 1972	Item
Giant Kansas Corn, 1947	Item
The Growth of Folklore Courses, 1950	Item
Heart Diseases and Folklore, 1974	Item
Historical Method and American Folklore, 1946	Item
History of the Elite and History of the Folk, 1971	Item
How Shall We Rewrite Charles M. Skinner Today?, 1971	Item
How To Restore One’s Game: A Case Study in Tennis, 1952	Item
Hugh Miller, Pioneer Scottish Folklorist, 1957	Item
Hunting Folklore in the Armpit of America, 1977	Item
The Identification of Folklore in American Literature, 1957	Item
In Memoriam Archer Taylor 1890-1973, 1973	Item
Index Cards to Richard Dorson Publications	Item
The Indiana African Folklore Conference, undated	Item
The International Congress of European and Western Ethnology, 195?	Item
Introduction: Folklore and Traditional History, 1971	Item
Introduction (to American Popular Culture), 1968	Item
Introduction by the Editor (Journal of American Folklore), undated	Item
Is Folklore a Discipline?, 1973	Item
Is there a Folk in the City?, 1970	Item
Jewish-American Dialect Stories on Tape, 1960	Item
Jonathan Draws the Long Bow, 1943	Item
The Jonny-Cake Papers, 1945	Item
Just B’ars, undated	Item
King Beast of the Forrest Meets Man, undated	Item
The Legend of the Missing Pajamas and Other Sad Sagas, 1977	Item
The Legend of Yoho Cove, 1959	Item
Local History and Folklore, 1961	Item
The LumberJack Code, 1949	Item
The Lynching of the McDonald Boys, 1948	Item
Maine Master-Narrator, 1944	Item
Manifest Destiny, 1966	Item
Memory of John W. Ashton 1900-1971, 1971	Item
The Michigan State University Folklore Archives, 195?	Item
More about Paul Bunyan and Hollander Michel, 1952	Item
More Jewish Dialect Stories, 1960	Item
More Tales of John Blackamore, 1954	Item
Mose The Far-Famed and World-Renowned, 1943	Item
Moses Coit Tyler: Historian of the American Genesis, 1941	Item
Murder Ballads, 1964	Item
Mythology and Folklore, 1973	Item
Negro Folksongs in Michigan From the Repertoire of J.D. Suggs, 1966	Item
A Negro Storytelling Session on Tape, 195?	Item
Negro Tales and Negro Tales Concluded, 1954	Item
Negro Tales From Bolivar County Mississippi, undated	Item
Negro Tales of Mary Richardson, undated	Item
Negro Witch Stories on Tape, 195?	Item
News and Notes on Asian Folklore, 1963	Item
Oral Tradition and Written History: The Case for the United States, 1964	Item
Paul Bunyan in the News 1939-1941, 1956	Item
Personal Histories, 1948	Item
Pitanje Folklora U Jednoj Novoj Naciji, 1965	Item
Polish Tales from Joe Woods, 1949	Item
Polish Wonder Tales of Joe Woods, 1949	Item
Print and American Folktales, 1945	Item
The Question of Folklore in a New Nation, 1966	Item
Question on A Theory For American Folklore, undated	Item
Sam Patch, Jumping Hero, 1945	Item
The Shaping of Folklore Traditions in the United States, 1967	Item
Should There Be a Ph.D. in Folklore?, 1963	Item
Sources For the Traditional History of the Scottish Highlands and Western Islands, 1971	Item
The Sources of Davy Crockett, American Comic Legend, 1958	Item
A Southern Indiana Field Station, 1961	Item
Stith Thompson (1885-1976), 1976	Item
Stith Thompson Memorial Issue, 1976	Item
The Story of Sam Patch, 1947	Item
The Study of Folklore and Folklife in American Universities, 1970	Item
Tales on a Greek-American Family on Tape, undated	Item
Techniques of the Folklorist, 1968	Item
Theories of Myth and the Folklorist, 1959	Item
A Theory For American Folklore, 1959	Item
A Theory For American Folklore: Discussion from the Floor, undated	Item
A Theory For American Folklore: Prepared Comments, undated	Item
A Theory For American Folklore Reviewed, 1969	Item
Two City Yarnfests, 1946	Item
Two Letters That Never Got Published, 1969	Item
UNA Teoria Para El Folklore Americano, 1960-61	Item
Uses of ‘Folklore’ in English Newspapers, 1965	Item
A Visit With Vance Randolph, 1954	Item
What is Folklore?, 1968	Item
The Yankee on the Stage – A Folk Hero of American Drama, 1940	Item
Yorker Yarns of Yore, 1947	Item
The Yugoslav – American Seminars in Social Sciences and Humanities, 1969	Item
Yuletide Gift-Givers, 1959	Item
Publication correspondence, 1959-1979	Subseries
Essays on International Folklore and Folklore Research Around the World, 1959-1961	Item
Folktales of Switzerland, 1976-1977	Item
Folktales of Taiwan, 1973	Item
Folktales of the Ukraine, 1965-1970	Item
Folktales of the World and Folktales of West Africa, 1963-1971	Item
Folktales of Turkey, 1964-1967	Item
Folktales of Yugoslavia, 1962-1970	Item
Letters of Correspondence, 1963-1979	Item
Robert Wildhaber, 1967-1977	Item
The Vanishing Hitchhiker, 1967	Item
Subject files, 1978-1980,undated	Series
American Folklore Society Meeting, 1977	Item
Audio cassettes	Subseries
Copy of Tape 10b: Gary Project	Item
Copy of Tape 12: Full Transcription, transcribed by C. Edwards	Item
Copy of Tape 12: Gary Project, transcribed by Carole Burke	Item
Copy of Tape 17, prepared by M. Roseman	Item
Copy of Tape 17, prepared by M. Roseman	Item
Copy of Tape 25: Gary Project	Item
Copy of Tape 26: Gary Project	Item
Copy of Tape 6	Item
Copy of Tape 6	Item
Tape 1: Calumet Region, transcribed by C. Edwards	Item
Tape 11: Gary Project, transcribed by Carole Burke	Item
Tape 14: Gary Project, summary by C. Edwards	Item
Tape 15b: Gary Project, summary by C. Edwards	Item
Tape 16: Gary Project, transcribed by Michelle Janette	Item
Tape 18: Gary Project, summary by Mary Stevens	Item
Tape 19: Gary Project, summary by Mary Stevens	Item
Tape 2: Calumet Region, transcribed by C. Edwards	Item
Tape 20: Gary Project, transcribed by Mary Stevens	Item
Tape 21a: Gary Project, transcribed by C. Edwards	Item
Tape 22: Broadstone, transcribed by Merry Weed	Item
Tape 23: Gary Project, transcribed by Carole Burke	Item
Tape 24: Gary Project	Item
Tape 29: Gary Project, transcribed by C. Edwards	Item
Tape 3: Calumet Region	Item
Tape 30: Urban Studies Seminar, transcribed by Michelle Janette	Item
Tape 31: Serbian Hall, transcribed by Michelle Janette	Item
Tape 32: Serbian Hall, transcribed by Merry Weed	Item
Tape 33: Purdue-Calumet, transcribed by Merry Weed	Item
Tape 34: Purdue-Calumet, summary and partial transcription by Merry Weed	Item
Tape 35: Greek students, transcribed by Merry Weed	Item
Tape 6: Calumet Region	Item
Tape 7: Calumet Region, transcribed by Roger Beatty	Item
Tape 8: Calumet Region, transcribed by Merry Weed	Item
Tape 9: Calumet Region	Item
Catalog of American Folktales by State – index cards, undated	Item
Index cards containing contact information of associate professors and alumni – 1979	Item
Lecture at Boston Public Library, May 15, 1978	Item
National Endowment for the Humanities Grant Selection Meeting, 1978	Item
Smithsonian Council Meeting, 1978	Item
Syllabus for F625, American Folklore in American Civilization, 1980	Item