William Hansen | |
---|---|
Born | 1941 (age 81–82) |
Academic background | |
Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA, PhD) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Classics |
Sub-discipline | Folklore |
Institutions | Indiana University Bloomington American Folklore Society Folklore Institute |
William Hansen (born 1941) is an American academic who is a professor emeritus of classical studies and folklore at Indiana University Bloomington. [1]
Hansen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965 and his PhD in 1970 from the University of California,Berkeley in classical studies.
In 1970,Hansen began his employment as an assistant professor in the Department of Classical Studies at Indiana University Bloomington,where also accepted an appointment as a fellow of the Folklore Institute. He became a professor of classical studies in 1985 and of folklore in 1992. Hansen retired from Indiana University Bloomington in 2005. He was named as a fellow of the American Folklore Society in 2010. [2]
Hansen is known for publishing the first English translation of Phlegon of Tralles. [3] He has also edited multiple collections of classical mythology and authored several works concerning Ancient Greek folklore and Roman folklore. Hansen's most recent book,The Book of Greek &Roman Folktales,Legends &Myths,is an anthology of lesser known narratives from the folklore of classical antiquity. [4]
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions,believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values,and possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. Legend,for its active and passive participants,may include miracles. Legends may be transformed over time to keep them fresh and vital.
In Ovid's Metamorphoses,Baucis and Philemon,were an old married couple in the region of Tyana,which Ovid places in Phrygia,and the only ones in their town to welcome disguised gods Zeus and Hermes,thus embodying the pious exercise of hospitality,the ritualized guest-friendship termed xenia,or theoxenia when a god was involved.
Phlegon of Tralles was a Greek writer and freedman of the emperor Hadrian,who lived in the 2nd century AD.
Classical mythology,also known as Greco-Roman mythology or Greek and Roman mythology,is the collective body and study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans. Mythology,along with philosophy and political thought,is one of the major survivals of classical antiquity throughout later Western culture. The Greek word mythos refers to the spoken word or speech,but it also denotes a tale,story or narrative.
Chinese folklore encompasses the folklore of China,and includes songs,poetry,dances,puppetry,and tales. It often tells stories of human nature,historical or legendary events,love,and the supernatural. The stories often explain natural phenomena and distinctive landmarks. Along with Chinese mythology,it forms an important element in Chinese folk religion.
Paradoxography is a genre of classical literature which deals with the occurrence of abnormal or inexplicable phenomena of the natural or human worlds.
Adrienne Mayor is a historian of ancient science and a classical folklorist.
Richard Mercer Dorson was an American folklorist,professor,and director of the Folklore Institute at Indiana University. Dorson has been called the "father of American folklore" and "the dominant force in the study of folklore".
The Judgement of Solomon is a story from the Hebrew Bible in which Solomon ruled between two women who both claimed to be the mother of a child. Solomon ordered the baby be cut in half,with each woman to receive one half. The first woman accepted the compromise as fair,but the second begged Solomon to give the baby to her rival,preferring the baby to live,even without her. Solomon ordered the baby given to the second woman,as her love was selfless,as opposed to the first woman's selfish disregard for the baby's actual well-being. Some consider this approach to justice an archetypal example of an impartial judge displaying wisdom in making a ruling.
Stith Thompson was an American folklorist:he has been described as "America's most important folklorist".
Traditional stories,or stories about traditions,differ from both fiction and nonfiction in that the importance of transmitting the story's worldview is generally understood to transcend an immediate need to establish its categorization as imaginary or factual. In the academic circles of literature,religion,history,and anthropology,categories of traditional story are important terminology to identify and interpret stories more precisely. Some stories belong in multiple categories and some stories do not fit into any category.
Incest is found in folklore and mythology in many countries and cultures in the world.
Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks,and a genre of ancient Greek folklore,today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancient Greek religion's view of the origin and nature of the world;the lives and activities of deities,heroes,and mythological creatures;and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece,and to better understand the nature of myth-making itself.
Ronald L. Baker was an American folklorist,historian,scholar of literature and onomastics,educator,and author.
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society,such as foundational tales or origin myths.
Hasan M. El-Shamy is a professor of folklore (folkloristics) in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology,the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures,and the African Studies Program at Indiana University. He received a B.A. with honors in Arabic and Islamic studies from Ain-Shams University in Cairo,Egypt in 1959. He then completed an intensive graduate program in psychology and education from Ain-Shams (Heliopolis) University in 1959–1960. Later he received an M.A. in folklore from Indiana University in 1964,as well as a Ph.D. in folklore with interdisciplinary training in folklore,psychology,and anthropology from Indiana University in 1967. El-Shamy is retired and professor emeritus at Indiana University Bloomington.
Linda Dégh was a folklorist and professor of Folklore &Ethnomusicology at Indiana University,USA.
The Motif-Index of Folk-Literature is a six volume catalogue of motifs,granular elements of folklore,composed by American folklorist Stith Thompson. Often referred to as Thompson's motif-index,the catalogue has been extensively used in folklore studies,where folklorists commonly use it in tandem with the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU),an index used for folktale type analysis.
Ancient Greek folklore consists of the folklore of the ancient Greeks. The topic includes genres such as mythology,legend,and folktales. According to classicist William Hansen:"the Greeks and Romans had all the genres of oral narrative known to us,even ghost stories and urban legends,but they also told all kinds that in most of the Western world no longer circulate orally,such as myths and fairytales."
Roman folklore is the folklore of ancient Rome,including genres such as myth,legend,joke,charms,fable,ghostlore,and numerous others. Scholars have published a variety of collections focused on the folklore of ancient Rome. Roman folklore is closely related to Ancient Greek folklore and precedes Italian folklore.