Linda Dégh facts for kids

Linda Dégh (born March 18, 1918 – died August 19, 2014) was a famous folklorist and professor. She taught about Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University in the USA.

Dégh was born in Budapest, Hungary. She became well known for her studies of legends, how people form their identity, and communities in both cities and the countryside across Europe and North America. In 2004, she received a special award called the AFS Lifetime Scholarly Achievement Award. This was given to her as a retired professor from Indiana University. She also led the American Folklore Society as its president in 1982.

Who Was Linda Dégh?

Linda Dégh was born in Budapest, Hungary, on March 18, 1918. She passed away in Indiana, USA, on August 19, 2014. She was married to Andrew Vázsonyi, who was also a folklorist, for 28 years.

Her Journey in Folklore

Linda Dégh earned her university degree in Hungary from Péter Pázmány University. After finishing her studies, she started teaching in the folklore department at Eötvös Loránd University.

In 1965, Dégh moved to the United States. She began teaching at the Folklore Institute of Indiana University in Bloomington. By 1982, she had become a very respected professor there. She was known as a Distinguished Professor of Folklore and Ethnomusicology.

Starting a Journal

While teaching, Linda Dégh created a special magazine called Indiana Folklore in 1968. She was the editor of this journal until it stopped being published in 1980. This magazine was the official publication for the Hoosier Folklore Society. Dégh also served as the president of the Hoosier Folklore Society in 1967 and 1968.

Leading the Field

Linda Dégh became a Fellow of the American Folklore Society in 1971. People are chosen as Fellows because they have made "outstanding contributions to the field" of folklore. In 1982, Dégh was elected president of the American Folklore Society. Later, in 2004, the Society honored her with the Lifetime Scholarly Achievement Award. This award recognized all her important work as a folklorist.

What Did She Study?

Linda Dégh wrote 18 books and more than 200 articles and essays. She is especially famous for her work on legends. Legends are traditional stories that are often believed to be true.

She also studied a concept called ostension in relation to modern legends. In 1983, she and Andrew Vázsonyi wrote an important paper. It was titled "Does the Word 'Dog' Bite? Ostensive Action: A Means of Legend Telling." In this paper, they suggested that legends can be acted out, not just told. Imagine if a story about a ghost was actually seen by people, or if someone pretended to be a character from a legend. This is what they meant by legends being "acted out."

Awards and Special Recognitions

Linda Dégh received many awards and honors throughout her career:

• 1968: American Philosophy Fellowship
• 1970: Guggenheim Fellowship
• 1971: Fellow of the American Folklore Society
• 1984: Fulbright Research Fellowship in Germany
• 1989: American Folklore Society: Centennial Recognition Award
• 1990-91: National Humanities Center Fellowship
• 1991: Hoosier Folklore Society Achievement Award
• 1993: International Society for the Study of Contemporary Legend Outstanding Contribution Award
• 1993: Folklore Fellows of the Finnish Academy of Sciences, Helsinki, Finland
• 1995: Sigillo D'Oro, Pitrè-Salomone Marino Prize, Palermo, Italy
• 1995: Ortutay Medal - The Hungarian Ethnographic Society Budapest
• 2002: Chicago Folklore Prize from the American Folklore Society for her book Legend and Belief: Dialectics of a Folklore Genre
• 2003: Choice Outstanding Academic Book for Legend and Belief: Dialectics of a Folklore Genre
• 2004: Lifetime Scholarly Achievement Award from the American Folklore Society

See also

In Spanish: Linda Dégh para niños