Observing the Outports: Describing Newfoundland Culture, 1950–1980 by Jeff A. Webb (review)

Observing the Outports is one of the more fascinating regional histories I have read in a long time. This is not only because it is so well written and researched but also because I have a personal connection to the topic at hand. I first spent time at Memorial University Newfoundland (mun) in 1978 to work on my Master’s degree in Folklore and was fortunate to meet some of the fascinating characters whose background and scholarship Webb discusses so eloquently. On one level, this book is a study of recent twentieth-century Newfoundland history, exploring the universal theme of how a traditional society of an island nation/province confronts modernization. On another level, it is a historical ethnographic analysis of how Memorial developed an interdisciplinary expertise in Newfoundland studies between 1950 and 1980. Unlike other standard institutional histories of universities, the author takes a novel approach by delving deep into the biographies and methodologies of a small group of scholars who chose to focus their research gaze on Newfoundland culture at a time when much transformation was occurring. As Webb says, “[t]his book will show how scholars brought different methods, theories and concepts to bear on that community” (5). Throughout the book, Webb demonstrates an impressive grasp of a variety of interpretive and methodological approaches developed by linguists and folklorists, historians and geographers, and sociologists and anthropologists.

Webb commences the book with a discussion of the Dictionary of Newfoundland English (University of Toronto Press, 1982) demonstrating the significance of this important work to the development of the Newfoundland studies movement. The three principal researchers–George Story, literary scholar; William Kirwin, lingusit; and John Widdowson, folklorist–recognized early on the importance and distinctiveness of Newfoundland language and dialect. A strength of the book is the depth of biographical information provided and the poignant stories explaining how this interdisciplinarity with a focus on Newfoundland culture developed. For example, after providing biographical material on George Story about his time at Oxford, where he was influenced by historian Hugh Trevor-Roper and literary scholar Helen Gardner, Webb describes Story’s return to St John’s with his Oxford degree “and some English affectations, both of which served him well in the then colonially minded Memorial” (32). This one short phrase reveals much about the attitudes among many individuals at Memorial University at this early stage of the institution. As Webb further mentions, Story met Edgar Ronald Seary of the English department, they proceeded to become colleagues and life-long friends and “soon set out an agenda for the study of Newfoundland that included the study of language, literature, place names, family names, folklore, history, and biography of important men” (33).

This passage exemplifies what is articulated throughout the chapters as Webb explores the interaction between scholars, many who came to study outport Newfoundland culture, tradition, and society from various disciplinary perspectives. Webb demonstrates throughout the work that support for this focus on Newfoundland culture came not only from the departments but also from upper administration. Memorial University president Raymond Gushue supported this focus of Story, Seary, and his colleagues on Newfoundland’s language and dialect, thinking it would provide the small university with a competitive advantage in obtaining research funding (36).

In each chapter, Webb discusses how particular scholars came to be connected to Memorial University, their formation and achievements in their respective fields, and the state of Newfoundland scholarship of the time. The contributions and achievements of individuals at the heart of this movement–including Les Harris, Moses Morgan, Keith Matthews, Gerald Panting, David Alexander, Jim Hiller, Herbert Halpert, William Kirwin, George Story, John Widdowson, John Mannion, Noel Iverson, James Faris, Louis Chiaramonte, and Melvin Firestone–are examined in depth.

The diversity of sources consulted by Webb is a strength of the book. Materials from Queen Elizabeth II Library, the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Folklore and Language Archives (munfla), the Dictionary...