Henry Glassie Twentieth Century." Such Praise Is Far and His Beloved Wife, Pravina Shukla, from Idiosyncratic
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Henry Glassie twentieth century." Such praise is far and his beloved wife, Pravina Shukla, from idiosyncratic. In a time of are beginning work in Brazil, where art horrifying sectarian violence, Henry's and religion are rooted in a distinctive Irish work demonstrated the power of mixture of African, European, and We celebrate the promise that Henry love, faith, and historical consciousness Native American traditions. Glassie, the author of many of the most to give meaning and structure to a While Henry has been closely influential books in folkloristics, will, community in which Catholics and associated with performance-centered despite his retirement, continue to be a Protestants together grappled with and folklife approaches in folkloristics, productive field-worker, writer, mentor, wrenching social change. After a span of consideration of his oeuvre reveals a and disciplinary leader. 34 years, Henry revisited his Irish work deep commitment to a humanistic Born in 1941 in Washington, D.C., in his most recent book, The Stars of comparative method in which the Henry comes from a family with deep Ballymenone. intersection of religion and art has Southern roots. Affection for the places, From a tiny corner of Northern provided a common denominator for a peoples, histories, and cultures of the Ireland, Henry shifted his attention in global assessment of the human American South, in profound tension the 1980s to the arts of a bustling nation. condition. Such considerations are most with his belief in the necessity of change While his earlier work had focused on overt in his stocktaking works, including in a society characterized by racial cultural forms that were often Material Culture and The Spirit of Folk Art. injustice, provided the early catalyst understood to be disappearing, Turkey Reccurring themes in Henry's research from which a long and productive career was a place in which the traditional arts include the socially integrative power of as an activist and engaged student of were reaching new heights of excellence vernacular cultures, the ramifications of humanity would grow. on a vast scale. His massive faith, the cross-cultural nature of art, the Henry consistently describes the ethnographic endeavor became a major role of the individual in community, and unfolding of his career in terms of his museum exhibition and the monumental the lived experience of history. major fieldwork projects. The keystone book Turkish Traditional Art Today. Prior to finishing his doctorate, works in the period that runs from his Testifying to its impact, the study was Henry had already taken up work as one teenage years through the 1970s are named a noteworthy book of the year by of the nation's first public folklorists, Pattern in the Folk Material Culture of the the New York Times. In demonstrating serving as Pennsylvania's state Eastern United States and Folk Housing in the excellence of contemporary folklorist. After a year teaching at Middle Virginia. These transformational traditional art, the book singlehandedly Pennsylvania State University, Henry studies of cultural history in Eastern upended an elite discourse that insisted joined Indiana University's Folklore North America greatly expanded that Turkey's artistic greatness was a Institute in 1970. He was promoted to scholarly knowledge of the region while matter of the distant past. associate professor in 1972. In 1976 he offering general models for both The progression that began in returned to the University of historic-geographic (in Pattern) and Protestant America, led to Catholic Pennsylvania, where he became structural (in Folk Housing) analysis of Ireland, and was followed by Muslim professor and chair of the Department of artifacts. This period saw Henry move Turkey, brought Henry next to Folklore and Folklife, the program from through his degrees at Tulane University Bangladesh, where Hindu and Muslim which he had earned his doctorate only (English and anthropology), the artists shared the complexity of their arts seven years before. Henry was happily Cooperstown Graduate Program (folk and culture with him. The Bangladesh lured back to Indiana's storied folklore culture), and the University of decade resulted in Art and Life in program in 1988, when he was offered a Pennsylvania (folklore). Bangladesh, a book that the nation's College Professorship, the distinguished The nature of Henry's fieldwork leaders prompted him to write so that rank that he now carries into emeritus shifted when he began a decade-long their country could benefit from the status. Continuing the work that he project focused intimately on life in a same kind of comprehensive survey that began as a state folklorist and as a civil small community on the border in Henry had pursued in Turkey. rights activist, Henry has remained Northern Ireland. The many fruits of this Overlapping with his work in committed to public folklore practice: work have permanently reshaped the Bangladesh in the 1990s was the building exhibitions, doing historic humanistic social sciences. The beginning of his project on Japanese preservation work, participating in American geographer Wilbur Zelinsky ceramics, which he is currently pursuing folklife festivals, and working on called Henry's ethnography Passing the in collaboration with folklorist Takashi applied projects throughout his busy Time in Ballymenone: Culture and History Takahara. In turn, the Japan period has career. of an Ulster Community "one of the most overlapped with the start of his nearly Henry is proud of his four children remarkable pieces of literature of the completed artistic biography of Nigerian and three grandchildren and looks artist Prince Twin Seven-Seven. As this forward to seeing them in between new project connected to the religion of the research trips with Pravina. When in Yoruba people nears completion and he Bloomington, the couple intend to enjoy prepares to finish his study of a key art their beautiful, art-filled home and to in a Shinto and Buddhist society, Henry host the many visiting artists and scholars who are drawn to campus by the folklore program to which Henry has given so much. Jason Baird Jackson Honoring Grahame Bennett John Poole Professor of Mathematics Senior Lecturer in Music S. Holly Stocking Jacobs School of Music Associate Professor of Journalism Andrew R. Durkin School of Journalism Associate Professor of Slavic Languages Edward L. Robertson and Literatures Professor of Computer Science and Lynn Struve Informatics Professor of History and of East Asian Henry Glassie School of Informatics Languages and Cultures College Professor of Folklore; Adjunct Professor of India Studies, of Near Scott Russell Sanders Mihaly Szegedy-Maszak Eastern Languages and Cultures, and of Distinguished Professor of English Professor of Central Eurasian Studies Central Eurasian Studies and Adjunct Professor of Comparative Sven-David Sandstrom Literature Thomas E. Heslin Professor of Composition Clinical Professor of Business Jacobs School of Music Barbara Wolf Goulet Administration Professor of Special Education Kelley School of Business John Allen Scanlan, Jr. School of Education Professor of Law Diane Kewley-Port Maurer School of Law Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences and of Cognitive Sciences Daniel Seldin Associate Librarian Dennis R. Knapczyk University Libraries Professor of Special Education School of Education Bonnie Sklarski Professor of Fine Arts Jerzy Kolodziej Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Part Time, and Director, Larry H. Smith Summer Workshop in Slavic, East Professor of Music and Chairperson, European, Central Asian, and Caucasian Department of Organ Languages Jacobs School of Music Gerald E. Lowther Josep Miquel Sobrer Professor of Optometry Professor of Spanish and Portuguese School of Optometry and Acting Chairperson, Department of Spanish and Portuguese John McCluskey, Jr. Professor of African American Studies and Adjunct Professor of English Hal Pepinsky Professor of Criminal Justice - . · . In ' HONOR of .