Martha Warren Beckwith

Martha Warren Beckwith (January 19, 1871 – January 28, 1959) was an American folklorist and ethnographer, appointed to the first chair in Folklore established in the U.S.[1] She was born in Wellesley Heights, Massachusetts.[2]

Education and Academic Career

Beckwith graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1893 and taught English at Elmira College, Mount Holyoke, Vassar College, and Smith College. In 1906, she obtained a Master of Arts degree in anthropology after studying under Franz Boas at Columbia University, and she received her Doctor of Philosophy in 1918.[2] In 1920, Beckwith was appointed to the chair in Folklore at Vassar College, making her the first person to hold a chair in Folklore at any college or university in the United States. She became a full professor in 1929 and retired in 1938.[1]

Research

Beckwith conducted research in a variety of European and Middle Eastern countries, but her most extensive research focused on Hawaii, Jamaica, and the Sioux and Mandan-Hidatsa Native American Reservations in North Dakota and South Dakota where she was inducted into the Prairie Chicken Clan of the Mandan-Hidatsa.[1]

Selected Bibliography

References

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Martha Warren Beckwith
  1. 1 2 3 "Martha Beckwith". Vassar Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  2. 1 2 Katharine Luomala (October–December 1962). "Martha Warren Beckwith. A Commemorative Essay". The Journal of American Folklore. Retrieved 2008-02-29.

External links

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