Wolfgang Mieder (born 17 February 1944) is a retired professor of German 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, rangin ...

at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the Unite ...

, in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

, USA, where he had taught for 50 years. He is a graduate of Olivet College (BA), the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(MA), and

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

(PhD). He has been a guest speaker at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

in Germany, the country where he was born. Books by Wolfgang Mieder

He is most well known as a scholar of paremiology, the study of

proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbia ...

Alan Dundes Alan Dundes (September 8, 1934 – March 30, 2005) was an American folklorist. He spent much of his career as a professional academic at the University of California, Berkeley and published his ideas in a wide range of books and articles. H ...

labeling him "''Magister Proverbium,'' paremiologist without peer". In addition to being a prolific author and editor on proverbs, he has made a distinct contribution by producing an "astounding number of bibliographies", both articles and volumes, on several topics within paremiology. His annual list of recent proverb scholarship is published in each volume of ''Proverbium''. His most complete work in this area is his 2009 ''International Bibliography of Paremiology and Phraseology'', published in two volumes. From 1984 through 2021 he was the editor of '' Proverbium: Yearbook of International Proverb Scholarship'', an annual journal published by the University of Vermont. He was also editor of the ''Supplement Series to Proverbium'', a series of book on various facets of proverb studies. Each volume of ''Proverbium'' contained his annual list of recent proverb scholarship. He has published extensively in English and in German. He is the creator of the term

anti-proverb An anti-proverb or a perverb is the transformation of a standard proverb for humorous effect. Paremiologist Wolfgang Mieder defines them as "parodied, twisted, or fractured proverbs that reveal humorous or satirical speech play with traditio ...

, proverbs that are twisted from their original forms. The term became more established with the publication of ''Twisted Wisdom: Modern Anti-Proverbs'' by Mieder and Anna T. Litovkina. His work also includes contributions to

paremiography Paremiography (from Greek παροιμία - ''paroimía'', "proverb, maxim, saw" and γράφω - ''grafō'', "write, inscribe") is the study of the collection and writing of proverbs. A recent introduction to the field has been written by Tam� ...

, the collecting and writing of proverbs. He has published a number of collections of proverbs, both topical and international. Also, in every year's volume of ''Proverbium'', he publishes a list of proverb collections that have recently been published. Mieder was honored by 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 ...

with their Lifetime Scholarly Achievement Award in 2012. He was honored by three

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the ...

publications on his 60th birthday. He was later honored with a festschrift volume to honor his 65th birthday. He has also been recognized by biographical publications that focused on his scholarship. In 2012, he was awarded a European folklore award, the ''European Folklore Prize'' In 2014, he was honored with an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

by the University of Athens. In 2015, he was honored with "Doctor Honoris Causa" by the University of Bucharest. On the occasion of his seventieth birthday in 2014 friends and colleagues from around the world contributed sixty-six essays to ''Gegengabe, an international festschrift volume to honor Wolfgang Mieder for his contributions to world scholarship and his outstanding personality''. For his 75th birthday, colleagues have honored him with another festschrift: ''Living by the Golden Rule: Mentor – Scholar – World Citizen: A Festschrift for Wolfgang Mieder’s 75th Birthday.'' Mieder's work has become the topic of study for other scholars. Though Mieder is originally from Germany, he has lived in Vermont for over 40 years, teaching at the University of Vermont. This long time residence is reflected in his scholarship, as he has published four books on proverbs of New England and Vermont. His perspective and contributions from two countries has been the topic of an article.Jones, Amy. 2012. Wolfgang Mieder: Ein Fuss in beiden Laendern. "Sprache als Heimat" ''Quasi: Middlebury ollegeZeitschrift'' 54-56, entire article 52-58.

References

Selected books written or edited by Mieder

Books on paremiology * 1981. Co-editor with Alan Dundes. ''The Wisdom of Many: Essays on the Proverb''. New York: Garland Publishing. (Paperback edition: Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994.) * 1982. ''Antisprichwörter''. (Anti-Proverbs.) Wiesbaden: Verlag für deutsche Sprache. 2nd ed. 1983. * 1987. ''Tradition and Innovation in Folk Literature''. Hanover, New Hampshire: University Press of New England. * 1992. ''Sprichwort - Wahrwort!? Studien zur Geschichte, Bedeutung und Funktion deutscher Sprichwörter.'' (Proverb - Truism!? Studies Concerning the History, Meaning, and Function of German Proverbs.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. * 1983. ''Proverbs Are Never Out of Season: Popular Wisdom in the Modern Age.'' New York: Oxford University Press. * 1999. Co-author with Anna Tóthné Litovkina. ''Twisted Wisdom: Modern Anti-Proverbs''. Burlington, Vermont: The University of Vermont. * 2002. ''"Call a Spade a Spade": From Classical Phrase to Racial Slur''. A Case Study. New York: Peter Lang. * 2004. ''Proverbs: A Handbook''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. (Reprint: New York: Peter Lang, 2012.) * 2004. ''"The Netherlandish Proverbs". An International Symposium on the Pieter Brueg(h)els.'' Burlington, Vermont: The University of Vermont. * 2008. ''"Proverbs Speak Louder Than Words". Folk Wisdom in Art, Culture, Folklore, History, Literature, and Mass Media.'' New York: Peter Lang. * 2014. ''Behold the Proverbs of a People: Proverbial Wisdom in Culture, Literature, and Politics''. Jackson, MS: University of Mississippi Press. Proverb bibliographies: * 1977. ''International Bibliography of Explanatory Essays on Individual Proverbs and Proverbial Expressions''. Bern: Peter Lang. * 1978. ''Proverbs in Literature: An International Bibliography''. Bern: Peter Lang. * 1984. ''Investigations of Proverbs, Proverbial Expressions, Quotations and Cliches: A Bibliography of Explanatory Essays which Appeared in "Notes and Queries" (1849–1983).'' Bern: Peter Lang. * 1996. with George B. Bryan. ''Proverbs in World Literature: A Bibliography''. New York: Peter Lang. * 1999. with Janet Sobieski. ''Proverb Iconography: An International Bibliography''. New York: Peter Lang. * 2003. ''Proverbs and the Social Sciences: An Annotated International Bibliography''. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren. * 2009. ''International Bibliography of Paremiology and Phraseology''. 2 vols. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

and Jewish studies: *1995. ''The Jewish Experience of European Anti-Semitism''. Harry H. Kahn Memorial Lectures (1990–1994). Eds. Hazel Kahn Keimowitz and Wolfgang Mieder. Burlington, Vermont: The Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont. *1996. ''The Holocaust: Introductory Essays''. Eds. David Scrase and W. Mieder. Burlington, Vermont: The Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont. *1999. ''Shifting Paradigms in German-Jewish Relations (1750–2000).'' Harry H. Kahn Memorial Lectures (1995–1999). Eds. Hazel Kahn Keimowitz and Wolfgang Mieder. Burlington, Vermont: The Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont. *2001. ''The Holocaust: Personal Accounts.'' Eds. David Scrase and Wolfgang Mieder. Burlington, Vermont: The Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont. *2001. ''Reflections on the Holocaust. Festschrift for Raul Hilberg on His Seventy-Fifth Birthday''. Eds. Wolfgang Mieder and David Scrase. Burlington, Vermont: The Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont. *2004. ''Language, Poetry, and Memory. Reflections on National Socialism.'' Harry H. Kahn Memorial Lectures (2000–2004). Eds. W. Mieder and David Scrase. Burlington, Vermont: Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont. *2004. ''Making a Difference. Rescue and Assistance During the Holocaust. Essays in Honor of Marion Pritchard''. Eds. David Scrase, Wolfgang Mieder, and Katherine Quimby Johnson. Burlington, Vermont: Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont. Studies of European folktales *2007. ''The Pied Piper. A Handbook''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. *2007. ''Hänsel und Gretel: Das Märchen in Kunst, Musik, Literatur, Medien und Karikaturen''. (Hänsel and Gretel: The Fairy Tale in Art, Music, Literature, Mass Media, and Caricatures.) Wien: Praesens Verlag. *2008. Co-editor with Sabine Wienker-Piepho. Lutz Röhrich. ''"And They Are Still Living Happily Ever After": Anthropology, Cultural History, and Interpretation of Fairy Tales''. Burlington, Vermont: The University of Vermont. *2009. ''"Märchen haben kurze Beine": Moderne Märchenreminiszenzen in Literatur, Medien und Karikaturen.'' ("Fairy Tales Have Short Legs .e., They Lie: Modern Fairy Tale Reminiscences in Literature, Media, and Caricatures.) Wien: Praesens.

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