Bruce Jackson (scholar)
Encyclopedia
Bruce Jackson is an American folklorist
, documentary film
maker, writer and photographer. He is the James Agee Professor of American Culture at the University of Buffalo. Jackson has edited or authored 25 books and his articles have appeared in numerous magazines. He has also directed and produced five documentary films.
from 1953–1956, then attended Newark College of Engineering (now New Jersey Institute of Technology
) for three years. He received a BA from Rutgers University
in 1960 and an MA from Indiana University
’s School of Letters
in 1962. From 1963 through 1967 he was a Junior Fellow
in Harvard University
’s Society of Fellows.
He has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship
(1971), was nominated for a Grammy
(1974), named an Associate Member of the Folklore Fellows by the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters
(1995), and Chevalier in l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
by the French government (2002). He was president of the American Folklore Society
(1984), chairman of the board of trustees
of the American Folklore Center in the Library of Congress
(1988–89, trustee 1984-89), and director, then trustee of the Newport Folk Foundation (1965—).
He is the author or editor of 25 books. In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments
in protest against the Vietnam War
.
With Diane Christian, he has directed and produced five documentary films: Death Row (1979), Creeley (1988), Out of Order (1983), Robert Creeley: Willy’s Reading (1982), and William August May (1982).
His photographs have been widely published and exhibited. The most recent exhibitions are Portraits from a Prison (Arkansas Studies Institute, 2009), Cummins Wide (Albright-Knox Art Gallery
2009 and Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University
, 2008), American Gulag (Lega di Cultura di Piadena and Circolo Gianni Bosio, Rome, 2007), Bridging Buffalo (Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, 2006–2007), and Mirrors (Nina Freudenheim Gallery, 2004).
His work has been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts
, National Endowment for the Humanities
, Fund for Investigative Journalism, Playboy Foundation
, Levi Strauss Foundation, Polaroid Foundation, New York Council for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society
..
He has spent his entire academic career at the University of Buffalo. He joined it as an assistant professor
of English and Comparative Literature
in 1967, was promoted to associate professor a year later and to professor in 1971. He became SUNY Distinguished Professor in 1990 and Samuel P. Capen Professor of American Culture in 1997. In 2009 he was appointed James Agee Professor of American Culture. He has been also been adjunct professor in the UB School of Law and Jurisprudence, and the departments of Media Studies
and Sociology.
Since 2000, he and Diane Christian have conducted the Buffalo Film Seminars at the Market Arcade Theater in downtown Buffalo—an undergraduate film class that is open to the general public for the price of a movie ticket (about 200 auditors take part each week). On 14 or 15 Tuesday evenings each term, they introduce a classic film, screen it, then conduct an open discussion with the students and any of the auditors who want to take part. They also prepare 8-12 page handouts of notes on each film (nearly all of which are online at the Seminar's web site, as are lists of all films screened thus far, sorted by series, director, title and year of production). The Seminars have now presented over 250 different films.
From 1986-1990 Jackson was editor of the Journal of American Folklore
. Since 2002, he has been editor and publisher of the political web journal
Buffalo Report. In the past few years, his articles have appeared frequently in Artvoice and CounterPunch. He has also published articles and photographs in Harper's
, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine
, Film Comment
, Der Spiegel
, Le Monde
, The Texas Observer
, Rolling Stone
, Ácoma, The Antioch Review, Sing Out!
, The Minnesota Review
, The Nation
, The New Republic
, Criminal Law Bulletin, Latino-America and Senses of Cinema
.
Folkloristics
Folkloristics is the formal academic study of folklore. The term derives from a nineteenth century German designation of folkloristik to distinguish between folklore as the content and folkloristics as its study, much as language is distinguished from linguistics...
, documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
maker, writer and photographer. He is the James Agee Professor of American Culture at the University of Buffalo. Jackson has edited or authored 25 books and his articles have appeared in numerous magazines. He has also directed and produced five documentary films.
Biography
Bruce Jackson was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1936. He served in the United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
from 1953–1956, then attended Newark College of Engineering (now New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It is often also referred to as Newark College of Engineering ....
) for three years. He received a BA from Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1960 and an MA from Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
’s School of Letters
School of Letters
The School of Letters was a summer institute and degree-granting program at Indiana University, Bloomington. The School moved from Kenyon College in 1951 following the withdrawal of funding of the School of English by the Rockefeller Foundation. I.U. President Herman B...
in 1962. From 1963 through 1967 he was a Junior Fellow
Harvard Society of Fellows
The Harvard Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginning of their careers by Harvard University for extraordinary scholarly potential, upon whom distinctive academic and intellectual opportunities are bestowed in order to foster their individual growth and intellectual...
in Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
’s Society of Fellows.
He has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
(1971), was nominated for a Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
(1974), named an Associate Member of the Folklore Fellows by the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters
Finnish Academy of Science and Letters
The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters is a Finnish learned society. It was founded in 1908 as a Finnish-language counterpart of the Swedish-language Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, which had existed since 1838.- Members :The academy has a total of 328 seats for Finnish members...
(1995), and Chevalier in l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
by the French government (2002). He was president of the American Folklore Society
American Folklore Society
The American Folklore Society is the US-based professional association for folklorists, with members from the US, Canada, and around the world. It was founded in 1888 by William Wells Newell, who stood at the center of a diverse group of university-based scholars, museum anthropologists, and men...
(1984), chairman of the board of trustees
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
of the American Folklore Center in the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
(1988–89, trustee 1984-89), and director, then trustee of the Newport Folk Foundation (1965—).
He is the author or editor of 25 books. In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments
Tax resistance
Tax resistance is the refusal to pay tax because of opposition to the government that is imposing the tax or to government policy.Tax resistance is a form of civil disobedience and direct action...
in protest against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
With Diane Christian, he has directed and produced five documentary films: Death Row (1979), Creeley (1988), Out of Order (1983), Robert Creeley: Willy’s Reading (1982), and William August May (1982).
His photographs have been widely published and exhibited. The most recent exhibitions are Portraits from a Prison (Arkansas Studies Institute, 2009), Cummins Wide (Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is an art museum located in Delaware Park in Buffalo, New York. The gallery is a major showplace for modern art and contemporary art. It is located directly across the street from Buffalo State College.-History:...
2009 and Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, 2008), American Gulag (Lega di Cultura di Piadena and Circolo Gianni Bosio, Rome, 2007), Bridging Buffalo (Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, 2006–2007), and Mirrors (Nina Freudenheim Gallery, 2004).
His work has been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
, Fund for Investigative Journalism, Playboy Foundation
Playboy Enterprises
Playboy Enterprises, Inc. is a privately held global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Marston Hefner to manage the Playboy magazine empire. Its programming and content are available worldwide on television networks, Websites, mobile platforms and radio...
, Levi Strauss Foundation, Polaroid Foundation, New York Council for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
..
He has spent his entire academic career at the University of Buffalo. He joined it as an assistant professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of English and Comparative Literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
in 1967, was promoted to associate professor a year later and to professor in 1971. He became SUNY Distinguished Professor in 1990 and Samuel P. Capen Professor of American Culture in 1997. In 2009 he was appointed James Agee Professor of American Culture. He has been also been adjunct professor in the UB School of Law and Jurisprudence, and the departments of Media Studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
and Sociology.
Since 2000, he and Diane Christian have conducted the Buffalo Film Seminars at the Market Arcade Theater in downtown Buffalo—an undergraduate film class that is open to the general public for the price of a movie ticket (about 200 auditors take part each week). On 14 or 15 Tuesday evenings each term, they introduce a classic film, screen it, then conduct an open discussion with the students and any of the auditors who want to take part. They also prepare 8-12 page handouts of notes on each film (nearly all of which are online at the Seminar's web site, as are lists of all films screened thus far, sorted by series, director, title and year of production). The Seminars have now presented over 250 different films.
From 1986-1990 Jackson was editor of the Journal of American Folklore
Journal of American Folklore
The Journal of American Folklore is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Folklore Society. Since 2003 this has been done on its behalf by the University of Illinois Press. The journal has been published since the society's founding in 1888. It publishes on a quarterly schedule...
. Since 2002, he has been editor and publisher of the political web journal
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
Buffalo Report. In the past few years, his articles have appeared frequently in Artvoice and CounterPunch. He has also published articles and photographs in Harper's
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
, Film Comment
Film Comment
Film Comment is an arts and culture magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, of which it is the official publication. Film Comment features critical reviews and in-depth analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world...
, Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
, Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, The Texas Observer
The Texas Observer
The Texas Observer is an American political newsmagazine published bi-weekly and based in Downtown Austin, Texas. The non-profit magazine is nonpartisan, but the publication has historically been an advocate for liberal politics...
, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Ácoma, The Antioch Review, Sing Out!
Sing Out!
Sing Out! is a quarterly journal of folk music and folk songs that has been published since May 1950.-Background:Sing Out! is the primary publication of the tax exempt, not-for-profit, educational corporation of the same name...
, The Minnesota Review
The Minnesota Review
The Minnesota Review is a literary and cultural studies journal which places a special emphasis on politically engaged criticism, fiction and poetry. Issues are often "themed," recent issues examining the nature of academic publishing, of academic celebrity and of "smart" working class kids'...
, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, Criminal Law Bulletin, Latino-America and Senses of Cinema
Senses of Cinema
Senses of Cinema is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Senses of Cinema publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career overviews of the works of key directors, and coverage of many...
.
Filmography
- Death Row (1979)
- Creeley (1988)
- Out of Order (1983)
- Robert Creeley: Willy’s Reading (1982)
- William August May (1982)
Published works
- Folklore and Society (ed., Folklore Associates, 1966)
- The Negro and his Folklore in 19th Century Periodicals (ed., American Folklore Society and University of Texas PressUniversity of Texas PressThe University of Texas Press is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texana, anthropology, U.S...
, 1967) - A Thief's Primer (Macmillan, 1969)
- Prison, The Rip Off Review of Western CultureThe Rip Off Review of Western CultureRip Off Review Of Western Culture was an underground comic magazine based in San Francisco, California. There were three issues in 1972. The publication was historically significant in that it brought together the work of many noteworthy underground artists and writers.-History:The Rip Off Review...
, Edition #1 June/July 1972 - In the Life: Versions of the Criminal Experience (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1972)
- Wake Up Dead Man: Afro-American Worksongs from Texas Prisons (Harvard University Press, 1972)
- "Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me": Narrative Poetry from Black Oral Tradition (Harvard University Press, 1964)
- Killing Time: Life in the Arkansas Penitentiary (photographs. Cornell University PressCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, 1977) - The Programmer (novel, Doubleday, 1979)
- Death Row (with Diane Christian, Beacon PressBeacon PressBeacon Press is an American non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association.Beacon Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses....
, 1980) - Get the Money and Shoot: The DRI Guide to Funding Documentary Films (Documentary Research, 1981)
- Your Father's Not Coming Home Any More (ed., Richard Marek/ Putnam's, 1981)
- Doing Drugs (with Michael Jackson, St. Martin's, 1983)
- Teaching Folklore (ed., American Folklore Society and Documentary Research, 1984)
- Law and Disorder: Criminal Justice in America (University of Illinois Press, 1985)
- Rainbow Freeware (New South Moulton Press, 1986)
- Feminism and Folklore (ed., Special expanded issue of JAF, American Folklore Society, 1987)
- Fieldwork (University of Illinois Press, 1987)
- A User's Guide: Freeware, Shareware, and Public Domain Software (New South Moulton Press, 1988)
- The Centennial Index: 100 Years of Journal of American Folklore (co-editor, with Michael Taft and Harvey Axlerod, American Folklore Society, 1988)
- Disorderly Conduct (political and social essays, 1992, University of Illinois PressUniversity of Illinois PressThe University of Illinois Press , is a major American university press and part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic projects...
) - The World Observed: Reflections on the Fieldwork Process (co-editor, with Edward D. Ives, University of Illinois Press, 1996)
- Emile de Antonio in Buffalo (editor, Center Working Papers, 2003)
- The Peace Bridge Chronicles (Center Working Papers, 2003)
- Late Friends (Center Working Papers, 2005)
- The Story is True: The Art and Meaning of Telling Stories (Temple University Press, 2007)
- Cummins Wide: Photographs from the Arkansas Prison (Center for Documentary Studies/Center Working Papers, 2008)
- Pictures from a Drawer: Prison and the Art of Portraiture (Temple University Press, 2009)