James N. Tidwell American Folklore Collection

Collection

Identifier: MS-0253

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The James Tidwell American Folklore Collection primarily consists of examples of American folklore, and was created by James Tidwell. It includes folklore in various genres, including stories, sayings, figures of speech, moral tales, anecdotes, legends, jokes, riddles, and music, among others. The collection also contains some student work from Tidwell's San Diego State College courses, and note cards documenting music and sayings. It is filed alphabetically by genre.

Dates

Creation: n.d.

Creator

Tidwell, James Nathan (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright interests in some or all of these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creator(s) of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of archival collections is such that multiple creators are often applicable and copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. In any case, the user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, obtaining publication rights and copyright infringement. When requesting images from Special Collections & University Archives for publication, we require a signed agreement waiving San Diego State University of any liability in the event of a copyright violation.

Biographical Note

Dr. James Tidwell was born in Texas in 1911. He earned his doctorate in English from the Ohio State University, and enlisted in the Navy during World War II. He taught at Ohio State University and Westminster College prior to joining the faculty at San Diego State College in 1947. He was a Fulbright Professor of American Literature and Language at the University of Athens in Athens, Greece from 1956-57.

Tidwell is the author of many scholarly publications and of A Treasury of American Folk Humor, published in 1956. During his career, Tidwell was the regional editor for the Journal of Western Folklore, Counselor for the American Folklore Society, member of the Advisory Committee of American Speech, and also hosted a local television series on folklore in 1956. He served as acting dean of the School of Arts and Letters, and retired in 1976.