Dean Fansler, also Dean S. Fansler, was a teacher of English at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in the early 20th century and brother of

Priscilla Hiss Priscilla Hiss (October 13, 1903 – October 14, 1984), born Priscilla Fansler and first married as Priscilla Hobson, was a 20th-century American teacher and book editor, best known as the wife of Alger Hiss, an alleged Communist and former Sta ...

(wife of

Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in con ...

), who, as a "noted folklorist" helped preserve Filipino folklore culture in the early 20th century, after centuries of Spanish and American domination.

Background

Dean Spruill Fansler was born in 1885. His father was Thomas Lafayette Fansler, mother Willa Roland Spruill, and younger sister Priscilla Hiss, born Priscilla Harriet Fansler. In 1906, he received a BA from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and MA (1907) and doctorate (1913) from Columbia.

Career

In 1908, Fansler started working at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

. From then through 1914, he collected Filipino folklore tales. By 1914, Fansler appears in the Columbia College catalog as an assistant professor of English. In the early 1920s, Fansler was a professor at Columbia College and receives mention as an acquaintance (probably teacher) in the first autobiography of

Mortimer J. Adler Mortimer Jerome Adler (December 28, 1902 – June 28, 2001) was an American philosopher, educator, encyclopedist, and popular author. As a philosopher he worked within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions. He lived for long stretches in N ...

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the movements known as historical ...

recommended that Fansler earn his doctorate and inspired him to prepare Philippine material for publication.

Works

In 1956, the "most widely known collection of Philippine folktales" was Dean Fansler's ''Filipino Popular Tales''. * ''Chaucer and the 'Roman a la Rose' '' (1914) * ''Filipino Popular Tales'' (1921)

Background

Career

Works

See also

References

External links