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Title	William A. "Bert" Wilson interview;
Access	Not available online - held remotely at Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory;
Source URL	Original interview: http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?brand=general&docId=ohrc070&chunk.id=d1e5472&startDoc=1 . This item is only available in a cassette audio format or a paper transcript. It is currently not available in digital format.
What is in this collection?	Interviews Oral histories Sound recordings Transcripts
Description	This interview is included in the Indiana University Folklore Institute, 1987 Collection at the Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory. In this interview, William A. "Bert" Wilson, born on September 23, 1933, talks about his early life and education. He talks about going to Finland on a Mormon trip and becoming interested in Finnish literature. Through a National Defense Education Act (NDEA) language fellowship, he was able to study Finnish literature further at Indiana University (IU) and its roots in folklore. He recalls courses that he took, the professors, what he learned from them, and how the program expanded his interest to include Mormon and American folklore. He also recalls students who studied at IU during his different times there, and their great camaraderie and lasting friendships. Wilson talks a great deal about Richard Dorson and his huge impact on IU folklore through his amazing power, his high expectations and aspirations for his students and for the field. He talks about Dorson's relationships with others, mostly in terms of love-hate, and about the conflicts Dorson had with many including David Bidney and Duncan Emerich. Wilson goes on to talk about the great contributions Stith Thompson made to the IU program, creating a strong supportive base for Dorson, and to the field, through his work on the historic-geographic method. He compares this program building on a smaller level to that of Alta and Austin Fife at Utah State University and talks about the growth of folklore programs at other universities. He discusses his work for his dissertation and at editing over the years. He also discusses the changes the IU Folklore Institute has undergone since Dorson's death. This collection is part of the Indiana University Folklore Institute, 1987 collection which is available at the Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory. It consists of: 94 pages, 3 tapes (1 7/8 ips, 2 hours 29 minutes), and no index. This collection is closed until 2015 except to authorized project personnel. The IU Folklore Institute, 1987 collection deals with the beginning, the building, and the growth of the Indiana University (IU) Folklore Institute into an internationally recognized program. The interviewees are mostly students and/or faculty of the folklore program from the 1940s to the 1980s. They discuss those who most influenced and impacted the institute, namely Stith Thompson and Richard M. Dorson. They share their memories and experiences of the time they spent, or continue to spend, in the IU Folklore Institute.
Where can I find the original?	This collection is available at the Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory under the call number 87-021. Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. ;
Original Date	September 18, 1986
Interviewee	Wilson, William A. (William Albert), 1933-
Interviewer	Domowitz, Susan
Place	Indiana University
This collection is part of the	Indiana University Folklore Institute, 1987 Collection, available at the Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory
Subject-LCSH	American Folklore Society Brigham Young University National Defense Education Act Language Fellowship Utah State University Bidney, David, 1908-1987 Dorson, Richard M. (Richard Mercer), 1916-1981 Emerich, Duncan B. Fife, Alta (Alta Stevens), 1912-1996 Fife, Austin E. Oinas, Felix J. Richmond, W. Edson (Winthrop Edson), 1916-1994 Thompson, Stith, 1885-1976 United States--History
Subject-Keyword	Departmental changes Departmental politics Finnish literature Folklore definition Folklore program founding Historic-geographic method Journal editing Mormon folklore Student Life
Geographic Locations discussed	Finland Utah Bloomington (Ind.) Indiana University Brigham Young University Utah State University
Time periods covered	1950-1959 1960-1969 1970-1979 1980-1989 20th century
Language	eng
Publisher	Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory
Rights	Copies of transcript pages are available only when such copies are permitted by the deed of gift signed by the interviewee. Scholars must honor any restrictions the interviewee placed on the use of an interview. Since some of our earlier (pre-computer) transcripts do not yet exist in final form, any editing marks in a transcript (deletions, additions, corrections) are to be quoted as marked. Tapes may not be copied for patrons unless the deed of gift permits it. Because our interviewees edit their transcripts, the transcript (if one exists) is the only version of the interview that may be quoted for publication. Interviews may not be reproduced in full for any public use, but excerpted quotes may be used as long as scholars fully cite any Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory data in their research, including accession number, interview date, interviewee's and interviewer's names, and page(s). Please see http://www.indiana.edu/~cshm/copycost.html for more details.
Digital Collection	Collecting Memories - Oral Histories of American Folklorists
Type	Sound Text
Search Date	1986-09-18
Identifier	CM-IU045

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