William Hansen (born 1941) is an American academic who is a professor emeritus of classical studies and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest ca ...

Education and career

Hansen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965 and his PhD in 1970 from 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 ...

in classical studies.

Career

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 Folklore Institute refers to the folklore studies program of Indiana University Bloomington (USA). The Folklore Institute, together with the Ethnomusicology Institute, constitute the larger Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology. The Departmen ...

. 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. Hansen is known for publishing the first English translation of Phlegon of Tralles. He has also edited multiple collections of

classical mythology Classical mythology, Greco-Roman mythology, or Greek and Roman mythology is both the body of and the study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans as they are used or transformed by cultural reception. Along with philosophy and poli ...

and authored several works concerning

Ancient Greek folklore Ancient Greek folklore consists of the folklore of the ancient Greeks. The topic includes genres such as mythology (Greek mythology), legend, and folktales. According to classicist William Hansen, "the Greeks and Romans had all the genres of oral ...

and

Roman folklore Roman folklore is the folklore of ancient Rome, including genres such as myth (Roman mythology), legend, joke, charms, fable, ghostlore, and numerous others.For example, classicist William Hansen notes that "the Greeks and Romans had all the genr ...

. 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 Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

Books

* ''The Conference Sequence: Patterned Narration and Narrative Inconsistency in the Odyssey'', 1972. * ''Saxo Grammaticus and the Life of Hamlet: History, Translation, and Commentary'', 1983. * ''Phlegon of Tralles’ Book of Marvels'', 1996. * ''Anthology of Ancient Greek Popular Literature'',1998. * ''Ariadne’s Thread: A Guide to International Tales Found in Classical Literature'', 2002. * ''Myth: A New Symposium'' (co-edited with Gregory Schrempp), 2002. * ''Handbook of Classical Mythology'', 2004. * ''Classical Mythology: A Guide to the Mythical World of the Greeks and Romans'', 2005. * ''Anonymous: Life of Aesop''. Bryn Mawr Greek Commentaries, 2008. * ''The Book of Greek and Roman Folktales, Legends, and Myths'', 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, William Living people Indiana University Bloomington faculty American classical scholars 1941 births University of California, Berkeley alumni