View source for Jack Zipes

{{Short description|American professor of German, comparative literature, and cultural studies (born 1937)}}
{{Infobox academic
| name               = Jack Zipes
| image              = 
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1937|06|07}}
| birth_place        = 
| nationality        = 
| occupation         = Literary scholar and author
| title              = 
| awards             = <!--notable national-level awards only-->
| website            =
| education          = BA., [[Political Science]]<br>MA., English and [[Comparative Literature]]<br>PhD., English and Comparative Literature
| alma_mater         = [[Dartmouth College]]<br>[[Columbia University]] 
| thesis_title       = 
| thesis_url         = 
| thesis_year        = 
| workplaces         = [[University of Minnesota]]
}}
'''Jack David Zipes''' (born June 7, 1937) is a literary scholar and author. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of [[German language|German]], [[North Germanic languages|Nordic]], [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]] at the [[University of Minnesota]].<ref name=aaa>{{Cite web|url=https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/zipes001|title=Jack Zipes|website=College of Liberal Arts}}</ref>

Zipes is known for his work on [[Fairy tale|fairy tales]], [[folklore]], [[critical theory]], [[20th century in literature|20th-century literature]], [[German literature]], German Jewish culture and the political and cultural significance of the [[Grimms' Fairy Tales|Brothers Grimm tales]]. He has authored, co-authored and edited 69 books including ''The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm'', ''[[Buried Treasures: The Power of Political Fairy Tales]]'' and ''Don't Bet on the Prince''. Among his honors are the [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] (1988),<ref name=gff>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/jack-zipes/|title=Jack Zipes|website=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation...}}</ref> the [[International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts]] Distinguished Scholar Award (1992),<ref name=iaf>{{Cite web|url=https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/IAFA-Distinguished-Scholarship-award-winners-list|title=International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts - IAFA Distinguished Scholarship award winners list|website=iaftfita.wildapricot.org}}</ref> the [[National Endowment for the Humanities]] Fellowship (1998),<ref name=neh>{{Cite web|url=https://www.neh.gov/humanities/author/jack-zipes|title=The National Endowment for the Humanities|website=The National Endowment For The Humanities}}</ref> the International Brothers Grimm Award from the International Institute for Children's Literature in [[Osaka]], [[Japan]] (1999),<ref name=ibg>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iiclo.or.jp/f_english/03_grimm/index.html|title=INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE,OSAKA|website=www.iiclo.or.jp}}</ref> the [[The Folklore Society|Folklore Society]] [[Katharine Mary Briggs|Katharine Briggs Award]] (2007),<ref name=kba>{{Cite web|url=https://folklore-society.com/awards/the-katharine-briggs-folklore-award/|title=The Katharine Briggs Award|website=The Folklore Society}}</ref> the [[Mythopoeic Society|Mythopoeic]] Scholarship Award (2012),<ref name=mmm>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mythsoc.org/awards/awards-winners.htm|title=The Mythopoeic Society: Mythopoeic Award Winners|website=www.mythsoc.org}}</ref> the Chicago Folklore Prize (2015),<ref name=cfp>{{Cite web|url=https://americanfolkloresociety.org/our-work/prizes/chicago-folklore-prize/|title=Chicago Folklore Prize|website=The American Folklore Society}}</ref> and the [[World Fantasy Award—Life Achievement|World Fantasy Convention Award for Lifetime Achievement]] (2019).<ref name=wfc>{{Cite web|url=https://worldfantasy.org/world-fantasy-awards%e2%84%a0-2019/|title=World Fantasy Awards℠ 2019 &#124; World Fantasy Convention}}</ref>

Zipes is a Fellow of the [[American Folklore Society]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://americanfolkloresociety.org/our-community/afs-fellows/|title=AFS Fellows|website=The American Folklore Society}}</ref> and the International Research Society for Children's Literature (IRSCL).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irscl.com/fellows.html|title=International Research Society for Children's Literature Awards|website=www.irscl.com}}</ref> He was a Founding Editor of the ''[[New German Critique]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/new-german-critique/pages/Editorial_Board|title=New German Critique–Editorial Board}}</ref> and holds positions on the advisory boards for the ''[[Oxford Research Encyclopedias|Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oxfordre.com/literature/page/3543|title=Editorial Board|website=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature}}</ref> ''Fairy Tale Review''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fairytalereview.com/about-us/|title=About Us &#124; Fairy Tale Review|date=February 26, 2020|website=www.fairytalereview.com}}</ref> and ''Storytelling, Self, Society''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/storytelling/editorialboard.html|title=Editorial Board &#124; Storytelling, Self, Society &#124; WSU Press &#124; Wayne State University|website=digitalcommons.wayne.edu}}</ref>

==Education==
Zipes earned a bachelor's degree in [[Political Science]] from [[Dartmouth College]] in 1959, followed by a master's degree in English and [[Comparative Literature]] from [[Columbia University]] in 1960. He went on to study at the [[University of Munich]] in 1962 and the [[University of Tübingen]] in 1963, receiving a PhD in Comparative Literature from Columbia University in 1965.<ref name=aaa/> His thesis was published as a book, ''The Great Refusal: Studies of the Romantic Hero in German and American Literature'', in 1970 and was influenced by the works of [[Herbert Marcuse]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19306962.1973.11754978|title=Jack D. Zipes, The Great Refusal. Studies of the Romantic Hero in German and American Literature: Bad Homburg: Athenäum, 1970, Pp. 158.|first=Horst S.|last=Daemmrich|date=January 12, 1973|journal=The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory|volume=48|issue=1|pages=63–64|via=CrossRef|doi=10.1080/19306962.1973.11754978|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Career==
Zipes began his academic career as an instructor of [[American literature]] at the University of Munich from 1966 to 1967. He became an assistant professor at the [[New York University]] German Department in 1967, and later joined the [[University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee]] as an associate professor of German and comparative literature, staying there as full professor until 1986. From 1986 to 1989, he continued as a professor at the [[University of Florida]] Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures before moving to the [[University of Minnesota]], where he has been serving as a professor emeritus in the Department of German, Nordic, Slavic and Dutch since 2008. He was awarded honorary doctorates by the [[Anglia Ruskin University]] (2019),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aru.ac.uk/graduation-and-alumni/honorary-award-holders2/jack-zipes|title=Professor Jack Zipes - ARU|website=www.aru.ac.uk}}</ref> the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (2023),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uwm.edu/official-functions/luncheon-for-uwm-honorary-degree-recipient-jack-zipes/|title=Luncheon for UWM Honorary Degree Recipient Jack Zipes|website=Official Functions}}</ref> and the University of Winnipeg.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/awards-distinctions/honorary-doctorate/zipes.html|title=Jack Zipes &#124; Awards and Distinctions &#124; The University of Winnipeg|website=www.uwinnipeg.ca}}</ref>

Zipes assumed the position of the chair of the Department of German, Dutch, and Scandinavian from 1994 to 1998, later becoming the director of the Center for German and European Studies from 1998 to 2002 and has been the director of graduate studies since 1990.<ref name=aaa/>

Zipes was the co-founder of the Neighborhood Bridges literacy program, a joint project of the [[University of Minneapolis]] and the [[Children's Theatre Company]], in 1997 and directed it until 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gallery.lib.umn.edu/exhibits/show/lrrh/curriculum/neighborhood-bridges-program|title=Neighborhood Bridges Program · Little Red Riding Hood: A Comparative Folk Tale Study · Gallery|website=gallery.lib.umn.edu}}</ref> In 2018, he established Little Mole and Honey Bear, a publishing house specializing in unique books for children and adults primarily created between 1910 and 1940.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://childlitassn.wixsite.com/intlcommittee/single-post/reviving-historical-childrens-books-with-jack-zipes|title=Little Mole & Honey Bear: Reviving Historical Children's Books with Jack Zipes|first=Jack|last=Zipes|date=February 24, 2022|website=intlcommittee}}</ref>

==Works==
Zipes has contributed to the field of literature by studying [[Jewish studies]], German literature, [[children's literature]], and the influence of fairy tales, with arguments based on the critical theory of the [[Frankfurt School]].<ref name=eee>{{Cite web|url=https://ikblc.ubc.ca/jackzipes/|title=Jack Zipes – Utopian Tendencies of Oddly Modern Fairy Tales &#124; ikblc.ubc.ca|website=ikblc.ubc.ca}}</ref> 

===Socio-political impact of fairy tales===
Zipes has analyzed fairy tales to understand their importance in the modern world. Looking into the lasting impact of fairy tales on literature, he explored their evolution, socio-political context, and exploitation by media networks in the book ''Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk & Fairy Tales'', which was called "a stimulating contribution to the critical literature of folk and fairy tales" by Edith Lazaros Honig in ''Children's Literature Association Quarterly''.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/250177|title=Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales (review)|first=Edith Lazaros|last=Honig|date=March 12, 1981|journal=Children's Literature Association Quarterly|volume=6|issue=2|pages=2–3|via=Project MUSE|doi=10.1353/chq.0.1304|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He emphasized the genre's broader cultural significance in ''Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre'', suggesting that fairy tales, as culturally repeated memes, have evolved alongside humans' cognitive development, exhibiting polygenic traits that transcend geographical boundaries. Kimberley Reynolds commented in the ''Modern Language Review'', "''Why Fairy Tales Stick'' is both a welcome addition to the expanding area of books about fairy tales and a useful teaching resource."<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/427/article/824880|title=Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre by Jack Zipes (review)|first=Kimberley|last=Reynolds|date=March 12, 2008|journal=Modern Language Review|volume=103|issue=2|pages=503–504|via=Project MUSE|doi=10.1353/mlr.2008.0131|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Zipes compiled various stories in several works, including ''The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood: Versions of the Tale in Sociocultural Context'' and ''Beauties, Beasts, and Enchantment: Classic French Fairy Tales'', presenting an account of lesser-known fairy tale versions and their contemporary relevance. He is also the Editor of the book series ''Oddly Modern Fairy Tales'' with Princeton University Press, comprising unusual literary fairy tales. Additionally, he published ''Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion'', which Deborah Stevenson referred to as "one of the key works of fairy-tale scholarship in our time", examining how fairy tales, through traditional forms and genres, have been used to shape children's behavior, values, and societal roles.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/225087|title=Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion, and: When Dreams Come True: Fairy Tales and Their Tradition (review)|first=Deborah|last=Stevenson|date=March 12, 2007|journal=Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books|volume=61|issue=4|pages=195|via=Project MUSE|doi=10.1353/bcc.2007.0837|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Zipes researched the lives and works of the Brothers Grimm in detail, by translating and publishing books like ''The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World'' and ''Grimm Legacies: The Magic Spell of the Grimms' Folk and Fairy Tales'', revealing their personal struggles, political endeavors, and contributions to establishing fairy tales as a significant literary form. He translated the complete 1857 edition of fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm in 1987, and in 2014, he published the first edition of 1812 and 1815 as ''The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm'' along with a new study of the tales, ''Grimm Legacies: The Magic Power of the Grimms' Folk and Fairy Tales''. Furthermore, he delved into forgotten political fairy tales and profiles writers like Édouard Laboulaye and illustrators who addressed social and economic issues in ''Buried Treasures: The Power of Political Fairy Tales''. In ''Publishers Weekly'', the publication was regarded as "a potent testament to the power of stories."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780691244730|title=Buried Treasures: The Power of Political Fairy Tales}}</ref>

===German Jewish studies===
Zipes' work on German Jewish studies focused on the relationship between German literature and Jewish culture. His book entitled ''Yale Companion to Jewish Writing and Thought in German Culture, 1096-1996'', provided a chronological history of Jewish writing and thought in German-speaking lands, showcasing the influence of Jewish writers on German culture. In a review for the ''Journal of European Studies'', Joachim Whaley stated "Gilman and Zipes have produced a marvellous compendium. Scholars will wish to return to it repeatedly."<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/004724419902900125|title=Book Reviews : The Yale Companion to Jewish Writing and Thought in German Culture, 1096-1996. Edited by Sander L. Gilman and Jack Zipes. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997. Pp. xxxiv + 864. £35.00. Theodor Herzl and the Origins of Zionism. Edited by Ritchie Robertson and Edward Timms. Austrian Studies Vol. 8. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997. Pp. xix + 210. £39.50|first=Joachim|last=Whaley|date=March 12, 1999|journal=Journal of European Studies|volume=29|issue=1|pages=120–122|via=CrossRef|doi=10.1177/004724419902900125|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 1992, Zipes published ''The Operated Jew: Two Tales of Anti-Semitism'', a translation of the stories "The Operated Jew" by Oskar Panizza and "The Operated Goy" by Mynona, investigating the themes of anti-Semitism and the pursuit of purity and perfection in turn-of-the-century Germany. In addition, he co-edited ''Unlikely History: The Changing German-Jewish Symbiosis,1945-2000'' with Leslie Morris, assessing Jewish life in postwar Germany, including community, culture, and the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Austria, offering insights into the evolving relationship between Jews and Germans. About it, Bjorn Krondofer remarked "The co-editors Morris and Zipes have gathered an impressive list of contributors from different academic disciplines in the United States and Germany...".<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/17/article/43938|title=Unlikely History: The Changing German-Jewish Symbiosis, 1945-2000 (review)|first=Bjorn|last=Krondorfer|date=March 12, 2003|journal=Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies|volume=21|issue=4|pages=156–159|via=Project MUSE|doi=10.1353/sho.2003.0058|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
*1981 – Fulbright Scholarship<ref name=ful>{{Cite web|url=https://fulbrightscholars.org/grantee/jack-zipes|title=Jack Zipes &#124; Fulbright Scholar Program|website=fulbrightscholars.org}}</ref> 
*1988 – Fellowship, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation<ref name=gff/>
*1992 – Distinguished Scholar Award, International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts<ref name=iaf/>
*1998 – Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities<ref name=neh/>
*1999 – International Brothers Grimm Award, International Institute for Children’s Literature in Osaka, Japan<ref name=ibg/>
*2000 – McKnight Research Grant
*2007 – Katharine Briggs Award, Folklore Society<ref name=kba/>
*2012 – Mythopoeic Scholarship Award, The Mythopoeic Society<ref name=mmm/>
*2015 – Chicago Folklore Prize, American Folklore Society<ref name=cfp/>
*2019 – Award for Lifetime Achievement, World Fantasy Convention<ref name=wfc/>

==Bibliography==
===Selected authored books===
*''The Great Refusal: Studies of the Romantic Hero in German and American Literature'' (1970) ISBN 978-3891044001
*''Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk & Fairy Tales'' (1979) ISBN 978-0813190303
*''Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion: The Classical Genre for Children and the Process of Civilization'' (1983) ISBN 978-0415905138
*''The Operated Jew: Two Tales of Antisemitism'' (1991) ISBN 978-0415904605
*''Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales, Children and the Culture Industry'' (1997) ISBN 978-0415918510
*''The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World'' (2002) ISBN 978-1596932128
*''Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre'' (2007) ISBN 978-0415977814
*''The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre'' (2012) ISBN 978-0691159553
*''Grimm Legacies: The Magic Spell of the Grimms’ Folk and Fairy Tales'' (2014) ISBN 978-0691173672
*''Buried Treasures: The Power of Political Fairy Tales'' (2023) ISBN 978-0691244730

===Selected edited books===
*''Don’t Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England'' (1986) ISBN 978-0415902632
*''Beauties, Beasts, and Enchantment: Classic French Fairy Tales'' (1989) ISBN 978-0453006934
*''The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood: Versions of the Tale in Sociocultural Context'' (1993) ISBN 978-0415908351
*''Yale Companion to Jewish Writing and Thought in German Culture, 1096-1996'' (1997) ISBN 978-0300068245
*''The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm'' (2000) ISBN 978-0393976366
*''The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales'' (2000) ISBN 978-0198605096
*''Unlikely History: The Changing German-Jewish Symbiosis, 1945-2000'' (2002) ISBN 978-0312293901
*''The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition'' (2014) ISBN  978-0691173221

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Portal|Children's literature }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170224092650/http://www.tc.umn.edu/~d-lena/Mythcon24%20Jack%20Zipes%20page.html Bibliography of Jack Zipes] at the University of Minnesota (UMN)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100107145754/http://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/2008/06/29/jack-zipes-fairy-tales/ Jack Zipes - Are Fairy tales still useful to Children? One hour interview from the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show.]
*[http://www.movingimagearchivenews.org/fairy-tales-of-the-silver-screen/ Jack Zipes Interview]
*[http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1219&context=marvels&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ca%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Djack%2Bzipes%2Bpublications%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D6%26ved%3D0CEkQFjAF%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fdigitalcommons.wayne.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1219%2526context%253Dmarvels%26ei%3Dl7yYT8HtCoPx0gHV7NTxCQ%26usg%3DAFQjCNGH-TNc-xGnCL75m3DzsRhfpJnhEg#search=%22jack%20zipes%20publications%22 A 2002 bibliography of Jack Zipes publications ]
*[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/bookstore/jackzipes.html SurLaLune-Listing of Jack Zipe's books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121220065218/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/bookstore/jackzipes.html |date=2012-12-20 }}
*[http://www.tc.umn.edu/~d-lena/JackZipesCurriculumVitae.html Education/Positions] at UMN
*[https://archive.today/20121212173344/http://ias.umn.edu/2012/11/15/zipes-jack/ Jack Zipes lecture "Fairy Tales, Child Abuse, and 'Childism'" November, 2012] at UMN
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140714143227/http://ias.umn.edu/2014/02/28/zipes/ Peter Shea interviews Jack Zipes 2014] at UMN
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140808061202/http://129.123.124.192/cdm/compoundobject/collection/AFS/id/185/rec/1 Jack Zipes Interview Transcription: Utah State University, Oral Histories of American Folklorists Digital Collection]
* {{LCAuth|n80017606|Jack Zipes|75|}}

{{World Fantasy Award Life Achievement}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zipes, Jack}}
[[Category:American literary scholars]]
[[Category:University of Minnesota faculty]]
[[Category:Dartmouth College alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Fellows of the National Endowment for the Humanities]]
[[Category:Jewish writers]]
[[Category:American people of Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Jewish novelists]]
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:Fairy tale scholars]]
[[Category:World Fantasy Award–winning writers]]