__NOTOC__
William R. Bascom (May 23, 1912 – September 11, 1981) was an award-winning American
folklorist
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
,
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
, and
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
director. He was a specialist in the art and culture of
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
and the
African Diaspora
The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...
, especially the
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
of
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
Biography
Bascom completed his
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
at the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, and earned his
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in anthropology at
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 ...
under
Melville J. Herskovits in 1939, which was based on research carried out amongst the
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
.
Bascom was the first American anthropologist to carry out fieldwork among the Yoruba.
Bascom taught at Northwestern,
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. During World War II, he joined the
O.S.S. and together with
Ralph Bunche
Ralph Johnson Bunche (; August 7, 1904 – December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize f ...
co-authored an unsigned volume, ''A Pocket Guide to West Africa'' in 1943.
Post-war, Bascom and his Cuban-born wife, Berta began research into practices of Yoruba origin - such as the
Shango
Shango (Yoruba language: Ṣàngó, also known as Changó or Xangô in Latin America; and as Jakuta or Badé) is an Orisha, a deity in Yoruba religion. Genealogically speaking, Shango is a royal ancestor of the Yoruba as he was the third Alaafin ...
cult and
Santeria - in Cuba and elsewhere.
Berta was a lifelong co-worker with Bascom.
In 1957 he left Northwestern University for the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
where he become the first director of the
Lowie Museum of Anthropology, a post he held until his retirement in 1979.
Bascom also helped in the creation of the Master's Degree programme at Berkeley in 1965.
Several of Bascom's articles on
folkloristics
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
serve as texts in graduate courses in folklore: his essays were regularly anthologised during his career.
Published posthumously, Bascom's ''African folktales in the New World'' (1992) has been credited with making important contributions to debates around "diffusion and independent invention".
Recognition
Bascom served as President of the
American Folklore Society
The American Folklore Society (AFS) is the US-based professional association for folklorists, with members from the US, Canada, and around the world, which aims to encourage research, aid in disseminating that research, promote the responsible ...
between 1953 and 1954. His two Presidential Addresses were titled “Four Functions of Folklore” and "Verbal Art". His book ''Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa'' was awarded the
Pitrè Prize.
Four functions of folklore
In a major article published in 1954,
Bascom argued that folklore can serve four primary functions in a culture:
* Folklore lets people escape from repressions imposed upon them by society e.g.: tall tales
* Folklore validates culture, justifying its rituals and institutions to those who perform and observe them.
* Folklore is a pedagogic device which reinforces morals and values and builds wit. e.g.: scary stories/moral lessons
* Folklore is a means of applying
social pressure
Peer pressure is the direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests, experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, and behavior. A g ...
and exercising
social control. e.g.: the boy who cried wolf
Major works
* Bascom, William R. (1943). "The Relationship of Yoruba Folklore to Divining," ''The Journal of American Folklore'', ''56''(220), 127–131.
https://doi.org/10.2307/535726
* Bascom, William R. (1943). ''The Sociological Role of the Yoruba Cult-Group.'' Menasha (Wis.): American Anthropological Association. .
* Bascom, William R. (1947). ''Ponape: A Pacific Economy in Transition''
* Bascom, William R. (1954). "Four Functions of Folklore". ''The Journal of American Folklore''. 67 (266): 333–349. . .
JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
536411.
* Bascom, William R. (1955). "Urbanization Among the Yoruba," ''American Journal of Sociology.'' ''60''(5), 446–454.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2772532
* Bascom, William R. (1955). "Verbal Art," ''The Journal of American Folklore'', ''68''(269), 245–252.
https://doi.org/10.2307/536902
* Bascom, William R.; Herskovits, Melville J (eds.) (1959). ''Continuity and Change in African Culture''
* Bascom, William R. (1964). "Folklore Research in Africa," ''The Journal of American Folklore'', ''77''(303), 12–31.
https://doi.org/10.2307/538015
* Bascom, William R. (1965). "The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives". ''The Journal of American Folklore'', ''78''(307), 3–20.
https://doi.org/10.2307/538099
* Bascom, William R. (1969). ''The Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria.'' New York; Chicago: Holt Rinehart and Winston. . .
* Bascom, William R. (1969). ''Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa.'' Bloomington: Indiana University Press. .
* Bascom, William R. (1973). ''African Art in Cultural Perspective: An Introduction.'' New York: Norton. . .
* Bascom, William R. (1973). "Folklore, Verbal Art, and Culture," ''The Journal of American Folklore'', ''86''(342), 374–381.
https://doi.org/10.2307/539361
* Bascom, William R. (ed.) (1975). ''African Dilemma Tales.'' The Hague: Mouton. . .
* Bascom, William R. (ed.) (1977). ''Frontiers of Folklore.'' Boulder, Colo.: Published by Westview Press for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C. . .
* Bascom, William R. (1980). ''Sixteen Cowries: Yoruba Divination from Africa to the New World.'' Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Pr. .
* Bascom, William R. (1992). ''African folktales in the New World''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. . .
References
Sources
* Robert Georges & Michael Owen Jones, ''Folkloristics: An Introduction,'' Indiana University Press, 1995, pp. 171–192.
*
Daniel Crowley and
Alan Dundes, "Obituary: William Russel Bascom," ''Journal of American Folklore'' 95 (1982): 465–7.
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology website - History page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bascom, William
American folklorists
American ethnologists
American curators
1981 deaths
1912 births
Anthropologists of the Yoruba
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Northwestern University alumni
Academics of the University of Cambridge
University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty
People of the Office of Strategic Services
20th-century American anthropologists
Presidents of the American Folklore Society