October 14, 1997
Mr. Alexander Star, Editor
Lingua Franca West 38th Street
New York, New
York 10018
FAX (212)302 0847
Dear Mr. Star,
The October issue of Lingua Franca startled and disappointed me. For the past thirty-five years in the academy, I have been struggling to overcome elitist dismissal and ignorance of my chosen field of folkloristics. With the establishment of four doctoral programs in the folklore and a half-dozen master's programs, I believe there has been some progress. All over the world, especially in Third World countries with numerous minority populati ons (e.g. More than fifty minority peoples in China, more than fifty minority peoples in Vietnam), professional folklorists are seeking ways of preserving precious traditions an analyzing these traditions. Yet in "Field Notes: Folklore's last stan d?" an unwary reader might wrongly assume that the study of folklore was no longer a viable academic career. Just as informants in the field may assert dogmatically that folklore itself is dying out--it isn't! Witness the rash of O.J. Or Princess Di jok es. So now Lingua Franca is informing its readers that folkloristics , the study of folklore , is dying out. It isn't! More and more young graduates at institutions where they have the opportunity to discover folklore are applying to graduate sc hool in folkloristics. Indeed, there are unfortunately more applicants to programs than these programs can possibly accommodate. I very much regret that your correspondent did not bother to check his facts and/or that you did not have his brief essay re viewed by someone who actually knows something about the subject matter at issue.
Sincerely yours,
Alan Dundes
Professor of Anthropology and Folklore
Folkloristics Redivivus (denied publication in Lingua Fran ca)