Alan Dundes 2020 Annual Lecture: Professor Simon J. Bronner

Embodying Tradition: Strongmen and Strongwomen in Folklore and Sports 

Abstract: Beginning as folk cultural events in the 18th century and growing into contemporary media phenomena, “Strongest Man” and “Strongest Woman” contests have expanded around the globe. The contests and the idealization of “feats of strength” raise questions about meanings of embodiment in folkloristic terms. This presentation theorizes the modern representation of the giant muscular, powerful body within progressive egalitarian societies and will look into issues of the contested image of pre-industrial health and well-being in industrializing countries of Europe and North America, and later, within a supposedly global feminizing sedentary service and information economy.

Simon J. Bronner is Dean of the College of General Studies and Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is the author or editor of over 40 books and 300 essays published in more than seven languages, including most recently: The Practice of Folklore, The Oxford Handbook of American Folklore and Folklife Studies, and Contexts of Folklore.

Sponsored by the Berkeley Folklore Program (folklore_archive@berkeley.edu)