Ellen Stekert (b. 1935) is an American academic, folklorist and musician.[1][2][3][4] Stekert is a Professor Emerita of English at the University of Minnesota and a former president of the American Folklore Society.[5]

Early life and education

Stekert was born in New York City in 1935 and grew up in Great Neck on Long Island.[6] She survived polio as a child.[2] Stekert began performing folk music in high school and has recorded several albums.[1][7][8][9]

Stekert attended Cornell University, where she took classes taught by the folklorist Harold Thompson, whom she also assisted in teaching.[10] As her interest in folklore grew, Stekert began doing fieldwork, collecting folksongs from traditional singers in upstate New York.[1] The songs Stekert collected from Ezra "Fuzzy" Barhight, a retired lumberjack from Cohocton, New York, she recorded and released as Songs of a New York Lumberjack in 1958.[11]

After graduating in philosophy at Cornell, Stekert began a Masters degree in folklore at Indiana University.[12] There she continued her fieldwork, collecting folk songs in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. On completion of her M.A., Stekert began research for a Ph.D. in folklore at Indiana. She completed her doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia due to the attitude towards her work of her supervisor at Indiana, Richard Dorson.[10] Stekert completed her Ph.D. in 1965.[10]

Career

Stekert's first teaching position was at Wayne State University in Detroit. There, Stekert built upon the pioneering work of Thelma G. James in the collection of urban folklore traditions.[13]

From there, she moved to the University of Minnesota where she was based for the rest of her academic career.[1]

Recognition

Stekert served as president of the American Folklore Society for the year 1977.[14][15] She was also appointed Minnesota's state folklorist.[1]

Selected publications

Books

Articles

Selected discography

As primary artist

Compilations and other appearances

References

  1. ^ a b c d e von Bernewitz, Robert. "Ellen Stekert - Folklorist, Folk Singer and Educator". Musicguy 247. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b Poppick, Laura. "Ellen Stekert: Trailblazer". REI. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  3. ^ Aloi, Daniel. "Peter Yarrow '59 leads 'Rompin' good time in Bailey". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Folklorist Ellen Stekert performs and shares stories from folklore". PRX. WTIP. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Faculty". University of Minnesota. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Biography: Ellen Stekert". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Songs of a New York Lumberjack". Smithsonian. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Rare Folk - Ellen Stekert "Ballads of Careless Love"". Popsike. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Ellen Stekert To Give Folksong Concert". The Daily Illini. 7 February 1962. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d Stekert, Ellen J. (1987). "Autobiography of a Woman Folklorist". Journal of American Folklore. 100 (398). University of Illinois Press: 579–585. doi:10.2307/540915. ISSN 0021-8715. JSTOR 540915.
  11. ^ "Songs of a New York Lumberjack". folkways.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  12. ^ Rosenberg, Neil V. (1 January 2016). "Judith Binkele McCulloh (1935–2014)". Journal of American Folklore. 129 (511): 97–98. doi:10.5406/jamerfolk.129.511.0097. S2CID 163826664.
  13. ^ Stekert, Ellen J. "The Wayne State University Folklore Archive: In Process".
  14. ^ "Past AFS Presidents". American Folklore Society. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  15. ^ Stekert, Ellen. "Crying Wolf - The Wolf as Symbol in Folklore". Wolf Song of Alaska. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  16. ^ Paredes, Américo; Stekert, Ellen Jane, eds. (1971). The Urban Experience and Folk Tradition. Austin, Texas: Published for the American Folklore Society by the University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-70122-5. OCLC 209262.
  17. ^ Stekert, Ellen (1959). "Fairy Palace". Western Folklore. 18 (1). JSTOR: 50. doi:10.2307/1496903. ISSN 0043-373X. JSTOR 1496903.
  18. ^ Stekert, Ellen (1963). "The Hidden Informant". Midwest Folklore. 13 (1). Indiana University Press: 21–28. ISSN 0544-0750. JSTOR 4318009.
  19. ^ Stekert, Ellen (December 1963). "The Snake-Handling Sect of Harlan County, Kentucky: Its Influence on Folk Tradition". Southern Folklore Quarterly. 27 (4): 316–321. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  20. ^ Stekert, Ellen (1993-01-01). "Four Pennsylvania Songs Learned Before 1900, From the Repertoire of Ezra V. Barhight". In Byington, Robert H.; Goldstein, Kenneth S. (eds.). Two Penny Ballads and Four Dollar Whiskey: A Pennsylvania Folklore Miscellany. Pennsylvania Folklore Society. p. 15-32.
  21. ^ Stekert, Ellen J. (1970). "Foreword: The Urban Experience and Folk Tradition". Journal of American Folklore. 83 (328). American Folklore Society: iii–iv. ISSN 0021-8715. JSTOR 539099.
  22. ^ Stekert, Ellen J. (1970). "Focus for Conflict: Southern Mountain Medical Beliefs in Detroit". Journal of American Folklore. 83 (328). University of Illinois Press: 115–147. doi:10.2307/539101. ISSN 0021-8715. JSTOR 539101.
  23. ^ Dorson, Richard M.; Baker, Ronald L.; Byington, Robert H.; Carey, George; Georges, Robert A.; Green, Thomas A.; Stekert, Ellen J.; Teske, Robert T. (1972). "The Academic Future of Folklore". Journal of American Folklore. 85. University of Illinois Press: 104–125. doi:10.2307/539353. ISSN 0021-8715. JSTOR 539353.
  24. ^ Stekert, Ellen J. (1986-10-01). "The False Issue of Folklore vs. "Fakelore": Was Paul Bunyan A Hoax?". Journal of Forest History. 30 (4). University of Chicago Press: 180–181. doi:10.2307/4004733. ISSN 0094-5080. JSTOR 4004733. S2CID 163902042.
  25. ^ Hennigar, Mary Jane; Hoffman, Daniel; Stekert, Ellen J. (1986-10-01). "The First Paul Bunyan Story in Print". Journal of Forest History. 30 (4). University of Chicago Press: 175–177. doi:10.2307/4004730. ISSN 0094-5080. JSTOR 4004730. S2CID 163432546.
  26. ^ Stekert, Ellen J.; Umpierre, Luz María (1992). "Deviance and Power: Malleable Realities in Manuel Puig's Use of Folklore and Cinematic Sources in Kiss of the Spider Woman" (11): 155–65. Retrieved 2023-08-15. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  27. ^ Kupiec Cayton, Mary; Gorn, Elliott J.; Williams, Peter W., eds. (1993). "Folk Song and Folk Music". Encyclopedia of American Social History. New York: Scribner. p. 1743-1756. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
  28. ^ Stekert, Ellen J. (1993-01-01). "Cents and Nonsense in the Urban Folksong Movement: 1930–1966". In Rosenberg, Neil V. (ed.). Transforming Tradition. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 84-106. ISBN 978-0-252-01982-1.
  29. ^ "Ellen Stekert - Ozark Mountain Folk Songs Volume One". Discogs. 19 October 2022. OCLC 32895997. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  30. ^ "Ellen Stekert - Ballads Of Careless Love". Discogs. OCLC 7332222. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  31. ^ "Milton Okun and Ellen Stekert - Traditional American Love Songs". Discogs. OCLC 53818536. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  32. ^ "Ellen Stekert - Songs Of A New York Lumberjack". Discogs. OCLC 50921919. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  33. ^ "Everybody Sing! American Folk Songs Specially Selected For Children, Volume 1: Songs For Cubs". Discogs. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  34. ^ "Everybody Sing! American Folk Songs Specially Selected For Children, Volume 2: Songs For Juniors". Discogs. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  35. ^ "Everybody Sing! American Folk Songs Specially Selected For Children, Volume 3: Songs For Seniors". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  36. ^ "Various – Our Singing Heritage Volume I". Discogs. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  37. ^ "Various – Songs Of The Civil War". Discogs. 1963. OCLC 3281938. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  38. ^ "Sarah Ogan Gunning – Girl Of Constant Sorrow". Discogs. 1965. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  39. ^ "Various – O Love Is Teasin' (Anglo-American Mountain Balladry)". Discogs. 1984. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  40. ^ "Various – The Riverside Folklore Series Volume Three: Singing the New Traditions: Songs, Singers, and Instrumentalists of the Folk Revival". Discogs. 1996. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  41. ^ "Various – Constant Sorrow (Gems From The Elektra Vaults)". Discogs. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  42. ^ "Various – Classic English And Scottish Ballads From Smithsonian Folkways". Discogs. Retrieved 2023-07-14.

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