|
|
|
|
|
IU professor appointed to National Council on the Humanities
Jan. 9, 2001
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- President Bill Clinton has appointed Indiana University Professor Henry H. Glassie to the National Council on the Humanities.
Glassie, College Professor of Folklore and acting chair of IU's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, was a recess appointment made by Clinton. He was appointed along with nine other scholars, educators, historians, archivists and a film director from across the country.
The National Council on the Humanities is responsible for advising the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities on policies, programs and procedures necessary for the NEH's operation. In addition, the council reviews applications for the awarding of grants and makes recommendations to NEH Chair William R. Ferris. Staff support and funding for the council are provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Glassie received his doctorate in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania. After teaching in IU's renowned Folklore Institute, he returned to Penn to be chair of its Department of Folklore and Folklife. In 1988, he returned to IU as College Professor of Folklore and also to serve as co-director of Turkish Studies. He has adjunct appointments in Central Eurasian Studies, Middle Eastern Studies and American Studies, and is a member of the Advisory Council of India Studies.
His early research on the American cultural landscape resulted in two major books on vernacular architecture. With a Guggenheim fellowship he went to Ireland, and he has written four books on Irish culture. One of them, Passing the Time in Ballymenone (Indiana University Press, 1995), won the Chicago Folklore Prize and the Haney Prize in the Social Sciences.
Research that he began in 1982 on the living arts of modern Turkey yielded a major exhibition, which appeared in the IU Art Museum, and a book, Turkish Traditional Art Today (Indiana University Press, 1993). Like two of his earlier works, Turkish Traditional Art Today was named among the notable books of the year by the New York Times, and for it he was honored with the Award for Superior Service by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and the Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts by the Assembly of Turkish American Associations.
In 1998, he received the state Certificate of Honour from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Bangladesh for his book Art and Life in Bangladesh (Indiana University Press, 1997). For this book and for a major exhibition at the Bangladesh National Museum, he was named a Friend of Bangladesh by the Federation of Bangladeshi Associations of North America in 2000.
His latest book, Vernacular Architecture (Indiana University Press, 2000), explores the relations between art and cultural history. His other books include Irish Folktales, Irish Folk History, The Spirit of Folk Art, Material Culture and The Potter's Art.
Glassie has lectured widely in Europe and Asia as well as North America. He has been president of the Vernacular Architecture Forum and the American Folklore Society, and he is a Folklore Fellow of the Finnish Academy. IU has honored him with its Teaching Excellence Award.
In addition to his doctorate, Glassie has a bachelor of arts degree from Tulane University and a master of arts degree from the State University of New York at Oneonta.
(George Vlahakis, 812-855-0846, gvlahaki@indiana.edu)