Brigham Young University will present the William A. Wilson’s Folklore Archives Founder’s Lecture, featuring a lecture by folklorist Simon J. Bronner, on January 26, 2022 at 2pm MST, in person or online.

“This lecture shares a continuing conversation I (Dr. Bronner) had over the years with the late Bert Wilson sparked by a fateful field trip we took to his pioneer home and landscape in Idaho. Analyst turned into the one being analyzed, he reflected on the importance of standing in the landscape to appreciate the whole of the LDS experience. Although writing that ‘the main function of the landscape is to provide a resonant background,’ he diminished the significance of the land and region in favor of individual experience in other writings, particularly in his criticism of the ‘Concept of the West.’

“In this talk, I return to the resurgent question of the land, and what I call ‘makerspace’ and ‘space in-between,’ as formative, or ‘resonant’ backgrounds for cultural development. Although Bert Wilson as historian and religious man was looking backward in time and was focused on the West, I use this opportunity to look forward to assess the effect of globalization and the digital revolution theoretically on region, building, and land in human experience and cultural practice.”

To view a video of the lecture, click here

The Jewish Book Council has named Jewish Cultural Studies by Simon J. Bronner (Wayne State University Press, 2021)  the recipient of its National Jewish Book Award for education and identity. Established in 1950, the National Jewish Book Award recognizes outstanding Jewish literature and is the oldest and most prestigious award of its kind.

On this episode of Curious Campus, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s  podcast about science, discovery and culture, two folklore experts talk about the origins of some of our holiday traditions. We talk with Simon Bronner, dean of UWM’s College of General Studies, distinguished professor of social sciences and an internationally known expert in folklore. Joining Bronner is Meghan Murphy-Lee, a senior lecturer at UWM in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature who has taught classes on Russian culture and Slavic folklore.