Summary: Bill Ivey and R.M. Dorson

First, let us start on Bill Ivey's Folklore, Art and Indiana:

Summary:

First of all, this was a speech, not a article, which meant I read the whole thing in Morgan Freeman's voice. Don't ask. In his speech, he spoke mostly on the history of Folklore at IU and how the program became "one of the most influential folklore program in the world." He mentioned specific people and how they helped further or bring about the program, most notably Tom Benton who drew a mural depicting Indiana's history.

Response:

As a speech, I tried to imagine my reaction if it had been given in real life and I had been sitting in the seats. I most likely would of fallen asleep. It's not funny, dramatic or very entertaining. It very much follows the format of an acceptance speech and as such, is filled with personal plug-ins, naming of important people and historical data that only diehards are interested in. It would of been nice if he had talked about Indiana's actual folklore or history versus the program's, but that wasn't the case.

Questions to consider:

1. There were a lot of facts and encouragement to further research, but Ivey didn't really mention his own personal feelings a lot. What does he like about Indy? About Bloomington?
2. He stated IU's program was one of the most influential in the world. Why?
3. Tom Benton was talked about a lot, along with his painting. It's mentioned that he isn't a Indiana native and his work was attacked because of this. What would a native have drawn in comparison to his work?
   Pictures of the mural: http://www.iub.edu/~iuam/online_modules/benton/teachlearn.html

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 Richard M. Dorson's Doing Fieldwork in the City:

Summary:

Is this guy crazy? Gary?! He's lucky to be alive! I love how he talked about the different people and the attitudes they had, but he makes Gary seem friendly and anyone who lives in Indiana knows it's a pretty dangerous place. The steel mills alone are dangerous, not to mention the local tendency for murder. I may traverse up there at one point to eat at Jennie's, which sounds like an interesting eatery.
The essay mostly talked about the locals, and later on his methods of collecting information. The majority of the essay focused on the local's way of life, culture, ethnicity and economic situation.

Response:

This was much more interesting then the previous article, as it focused more on the locals the on the history of a school's program. It was also funny to read as many things he mentioned had me shaking my head in acknowledgement - yes, Gary is like that and yes Indiana is like this or that. 

Questions:

1. Why this region? It mentioned he was interested in black steel workers, by why this area?
2. There was no mention of the darker side of Gary. Why?
3. He's very close to the coast of the Great Lakes, but there was no mention of it. Surely coastal folklore is different then mainland?