William R. Ferris
Encyclopedia
William Reynolds Ferris is an American author and scholar and former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities
. With Judy Peiser
he co-founded the Center for Southern Folklore
in Memphis, Tennessee
; he was the founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture
at the University of Mississippi
, and is co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.
. He attended public school in Vicksburg until high school, when he was accepted to Brooks School
in North Andover, Mass. Ferris got his B.A. in English Literature at Davidson College
in 1964, and an M.A. in English Literature from Northwestern University
in 1965. He attended Trinity College
in Dublin, Ireland, for one year from 1965 to 1966, and returned to the U.S. to continue his graduate studies. In 1967, he received a Master's and, in 1969, a Ph.D. in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania
.
Ferris's scholarship has focused on southern African American
folklore and culture, through a variety of media: print, sound, film, and photography. From 1970 to 1972, he was an assistant professor in the Department of English at Jackson State University
in Mississippi. From 1972 to 1979, he was an associate professor in the American and Afro-American Studies Programs at Yale University
. During his tenure at Yale, Ferris co-founded the Center for Southern Folklore in Mississippi, and was its director from 1972 to 1984. Ferris returned to the South, and, from 1979 to 1997, he was the founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture and a professor of anthropology at the University of Mississippi
in Oxford. While there, he established several annual conferences, including the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton
appointed Ferris as chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a post Ferris held through 2001. Ferris was the subject of some controversy in 2000 when the National Council on the Humanities, the NEH's advisory board, selected President Clinton for the Jefferson Lecture
, which the NEH describes as "the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities
." The Jefferson Lecture honor had never been given to an elected official before; Ferris said that his intent was to establish a new tradition for every President to deliver a Jefferson Lecture during his or her presidency, and that this was consistent with the NEH's broader efforts under his leadership to increase public awareness of the humanities. However, some scholars and political opponents objected that the choice of Clinton represented an inappropriate and unprecedented politicization of the NEH. William J. Bennett, a conservative Republican
and former chairman of the NEH under President Reagan
, charged that the proposal was an example of how Clinton had "corrupted all of those around him." In the wake of the controversy, President Clinton declined the honor; a White House
spokesperson said the President "didn't want the work of the National Endowment for the Humanities to be called into question." Despite this controversy, and even after the 2000 presidential election
replaced Clinton with Republican George W. Bush
, Ferris retained the strong support of Mississippi's two Republican senators, Trent Lott
and Thad Cochran
. They stressed Ferris's efforts during his tenure at NEH to reduce the ideological battles that had troubled the NEH under prior administrations, as well as his popularity among the state humanities leaders, and they publicly asked President Bush to retain Ferris. However, Bush ultimately decided to replace Ferris with his own appointee, Bruce Cole
.
In 2002, Ferris was a Visiting Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
and joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
as the Senior Associate Director of the Center for the Study of the American South, professor of history, and adjunct professor in the Curriculum in Folklore. He currently teaches two seminars-- “Southern Music” and “Southern Literature and the Oral Tradition”--per year.
Ferris is an author of ten books, including You Live and Learn. Then You Die and Forget It All: Ray Lum's Tales of Horses, Mules and Men, and co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. His most recent book, Give My Poor Heart Ease, was published November, 2009. He has written fiction, poetry, and numerous articles on folklore and literature, as well as book, record, and film reviews. Ferris has recorded blues albums, produced 15 documentary films on southern folklore, and, for ten years, hosted the weekly Mississippi Public Radio blues show, Highway 61. Ferris's photography, documenting aspects of African American southern folklore, has been featured nationally, including in an exhibit by the Smithsonian Museum and an article by the New York Times.
Ferris has traveled and lectured extensively throughout Europe and the U.S. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Charles Frankel Prize
in the Humanities, bestowed by President Clinton, and France's Chevalier and Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters. He has been honored by the Blues Hall of Fame
, which recognized his book Blues from the Delta as one of the "Classics of Blues Literature."
Ferris has four siblings. His brother, Grey, was a senator in the Mississippi State Legislature from 1992 to 2001, prior to his death from cancer in June 2008. Ferris is married to Marcie Cohen Ferris and has a daughter named Virginia.
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...
. With Judy Peiser
Judy Peiser
Judy Peiser is co-founder and current executive director of the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis, Tennessee. She graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Illinois and a master's degree from the University of Memphis .Peiser founded the Center for Southern Folklore in...
he co-founded the Center for Southern Folklore
Center for Southern Folklore
The Center for Southern Folklore is an American non-profit cultural organization based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1972 by William Ferris and Judy Peiser, its mission is "to preserve, defend, protect and promote the music, culture, arts, and rhythms of the South."The Center produces...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
; he was the founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture
Center for the Study of Southern Culture
The Center for the Study of Southern Culture , located in Barnard Observatory on the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford, Mississippi, is an academic organization dedicated to the investigation, documentation, interpretation and teaching of the Southern United States, including its culture...
at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
, and is co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.
Biography
William R. Ferris was born 5 February 1942 in Vicksburg, MississippiVicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
. He attended public school in Vicksburg until high school, when he was accepted to Brooks School
Brooks School
Brooks School is a private, co-educational, preparatory, secondary school in North Andover, Massachusetts on the shores of Lake Cochichewick.-History:...
in North Andover, Mass. Ferris got his B.A. in English Literature at Davidson College
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. The college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked in the top ten liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine, although it has recently dropped to 11th in U.S. News...
in 1964, and an M.A. in English Literature from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in 1965. He attended Trinity College
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
in Dublin, Ireland, for one year from 1965 to 1966, and returned to the U.S. to continue his graduate studies. In 1967, he received a Master's and, in 1969, a Ph.D. in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
.
Ferris's scholarship has focused on southern African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
folklore and culture, through a variety of media: print, sound, film, and photography. From 1970 to 1972, he was an assistant professor in the Department of English at Jackson State University
Jackson State University
Jackson State University is a historically black university founded in 1877 in Natchez, MS by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. The Society moved the school to Jackson in 1882, renaming it Jackson College, and developed its present campus in 1902. It became a state supported...
in Mississippi. From 1972 to 1979, he was an associate professor in the American and Afro-American Studies Programs at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. During his tenure at Yale, Ferris co-founded the Center for Southern Folklore in Mississippi, and was its director from 1972 to 1984. Ferris returned to the South, and, from 1979 to 1997, he was the founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture and a professor of anthropology at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
in Oxford. While there, he established several annual conferences, including the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
appointed Ferris as chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a post Ferris held through 2001. Ferris was the subject of some controversy in 2000 when the National Council on the Humanities, the NEH's advisory board, selected President Clinton for the Jefferson Lecture
Jefferson Lecture
The Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities is an honorary lecture series established in 1972 by the National Endowment for the Humanities . According to the NEH, the Lecture is "the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities."-History of...
, which the NEH describes as "the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
." The Jefferson Lecture honor had never been given to an elected official before; Ferris said that his intent was to establish a new tradition for every President to deliver a Jefferson Lecture during his or her presidency, and that this was consistent with the NEH's broader efforts under his leadership to increase public awareness of the humanities. However, some scholars and political opponents objected that the choice of Clinton represented an inappropriate and unprecedented politicization of the NEH. William J. Bennett, a conservative Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and former chairman of the NEH under President Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, charged that the proposal was an example of how Clinton had "corrupted all of those around him." In the wake of the controversy, President Clinton declined the honor; a White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
spokesperson said the President "didn't want the work of the National Endowment for the Humanities to be called into question." Despite this controversy, and even after the 2000 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
replaced Clinton with Republican George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Ferris retained the strong support of Mississippi's two Republican senators, Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
and Thad Cochran
Thad Cochran
William Thad Cochran is the senior United States Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the Senate in 1978, he is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and was its chairman and 2005 to 2007.-Early life:He was born in Pontotoc,...
. They stressed Ferris's efforts during his tenure at NEH to reduce the ideological battles that had troubled the NEH under prior administrations, as well as his popularity among the state humanities leaders, and they publicly asked President Bush to retain Ferris. However, Bush ultimately decided to replace Ferris with his own appointee, Bruce Cole
Bruce Cole
Bruce Cole is a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DCHe was born in Ohio and attended Case Western Reserve University. He earned his master's degree from Oberlin College and his doctorate from Bryn Mawr College. He is also the recipient of nine honorary doctorate degrees. For...
.
In 2002, Ferris was a Visiting Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars , located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968...
and joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
as the Senior Associate Director of the Center for the Study of the American South, professor of history, and adjunct professor in the Curriculum in Folklore. He currently teaches two seminars-- “Southern Music” and “Southern Literature and the Oral Tradition”--per year.
Ferris is an author of ten books, including You Live and Learn. Then You Die and Forget It All: Ray Lum's Tales of Horses, Mules and Men, and co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. His most recent book, Give My Poor Heart Ease, was published November, 2009. He has written fiction, poetry, and numerous articles on folklore and literature, as well as book, record, and film reviews. Ferris has recorded blues albums, produced 15 documentary films on southern folklore, and, for ten years, hosted the weekly Mississippi Public Radio blues show, Highway 61. Ferris's photography, documenting aspects of African American southern folklore, has been featured nationally, including in an exhibit by the Smithsonian Museum and an article by the New York Times.
Ferris has traveled and lectured extensively throughout Europe and the U.S. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Charles Frankel Prize
National Humanities Medal
The National Humanities Medal honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to important resources in the humanities.The award, given by the...
in the Humanities, bestowed by President Clinton, and France's Chevalier and Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters. He has been honored by the Blues Hall of Fame
Blues Hall of Fame
The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
, which recognized his book Blues from the Delta as one of the "Classics of Blues Literature."
Ferris has four siblings. His brother, Grey, was a senator in the Mississippi State Legislature from 1992 to 2001, prior to his death from cancer in June 2008. Ferris is married to Marcie Cohen Ferris and has a daughter named Virginia.