Contact: Public Relations
(863) 680-4118

English professor publishes book
on folklore of Florida Southern College

LAKELAND, Fla. (May 13, 2003) - Dr. Alexander M. Bruce, FSC assistant professor of English and assistant dean for academic affairs, has published a book entitled "The Folklore of Florida Southern College" (Aventine Press, March 2003). The book explores some of the oral history, rumors, and legends passed down from one generation to the next within the FSC community. 

Bruce gathered the collection of stories from alumni, faculty, and staff over a three-year period. The tales range from the years of Ludd Spivey's presidency and the Frank Lloyd Wright construction through the present. "These stories help make this community," says Bruce. "They're fun to read in their own right, and I think people will enjoy seeing the connections between generations." 

Using his work on the book for a student/faculty research project last summer, Bruce mentored FSC students Rosalie Lathers and Bradley Serata as they recorded and typed many narratives and organized data. Lathers, a senior music education major, is the daughter of Glen Lathers of Tampa, Fla. and Cheryl Lathers. Serata, a 2003 graduate, majored in criminology and sociology. He is the son of Robert and Judith Serata of St. Petersburg, Fla. 

Bruce began his formal study of folklore as a graduate student at The University of Georgia. After earning his doctoral degree from UGA in English, he joined the faculty of FSC in 1998 and began collecting the narratives told across the campus. Bruce has published essays on topics ranging from medieval literature to pedagogy to folklore as well as the book "Scyld and Scef: Expanding the Analogues" (Routledge, 2002). 

"Folklore" is available from the FSC bookstore at (863) 680-4186 and alumni office at (863) 680-4110 as well as from on-line booksellers.

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. 

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