Wayland Debs Hand (March 19, 1907,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

– October 22, 1986, Moon Township, Pennsylvania,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

) was an 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 ...

Biography

Hand was born in New Zealand, where his parents had emigrated. A few years after his birth, the family returned to

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, where Hand grew up. He attended the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, where he received bachelor's and master's degrees in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

in 1933 and 1934. He then earned a Ph.D. at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in 1936, writing his dissertation on German folk songs. After spending a year as an instructor at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, Hand joined the faculty at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in 1940, where he established the university's folklore department. From 1961 until his retirement in 1974, Hand was Director of UCLA's Center for the Study of Comparative Folklore and Mythology. He was editor of the '' Journal of American Folklore'' from 1947–51 and 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 ...

from 1955-56. University of California memorial article
/ref> Hand is known for his 1964 book ''Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from North Carolina'', considered one of the most complete and well-organized studies of

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

. Over the course of his career, Hand collected an Archive of American Popular Beliefs and Superstitions containing over 2 million items. The archive forms the basis for UCLA's ongoing project to produce an ''Encyclopedia of Popular Beliefs and Superstitions''. Hand received numerous awards and honors including the

Giuseppe Pitrè Giuseppe Pitrè (22 December 184110 April 1916) was an Italian folklorist, medical doctor, professor, and senator for Sicily. As a folklorist he is credited with extending the realm of folklore to include all manifestations of popular life. He is ...

Prize for International Folklore (1965) and the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...

(1972). Hand died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on October 22, 1986, at Pittsburgh International Airport, while on his way to the annual meeting of the

. His papers and files are at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

. In his honor, the History and Folklore Section of the

(AFS) awards biannually the Wayland D. Hand Prize for an outstanding book that combines historical and folkloristic perspectives.

Bibliography

*''Humaniora: Essays in Literature, Folklore, and Bibliography: Honoring

Archer Taylor Archer Taylor (August 1, 1890September 30, 1973) was one of America's "foremost specialists in American and European folklore","Archer Taylor, UC professor", ''The San Francisco Examiner'', 2 October 1973, p. 49. with a special interest in cultur ...

on his Seventieth Birthday'' (1960) *''Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from North Carolina'' (1964) *''Eyes on Texas: Fifty Years of Folklore in the Southwest'' (1967) *''American Folk Legend: A Symposium'' (ed.) (1971) *''American Folk Medicine: A Symposium'' (ed.) (1976)

References

External links

Frances Cattermole-Tally, "Wayland Debs Hand (1907-1986)"
'' Journal of American Folklore'' (1989).
Utah State University profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hand, Wayland 1907 births 1986 deaths American folklorists University of Utah alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Minnesota faculty University of California, Los Angeles faculty New Zealand emigrants to the United States Recipients of the Order of the Lion of Finland Presidents of the American Folklore Society

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links