Constance Rourke

Constance Mayfield Rourke (November 14, 1885- March 29, 1941) was an American author and educator. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended Sorbonne and Vassar College. She taught at Vassar from 1910 to 1915. She died in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1941.

Rourke specialized in American popular culture. She wrote biographies of notable American figures, such as Davy Crockett, John James Audubon, and Charles Sheeler, as well as books exploring different components of American culture and its history. During the 1930s she worked on the Index of American Design as part of the Works Progress Administration. Among her most notable books is American Humor: A Study of the National Character, which was first published in 1931. Her work was essential in the formation of American Studies.

References

• Rourke, Constance. American Humor: a Study of the National Character. Garden City: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1953.

External Links

Index of American Design

Persondata
Name	Rourke, Constance
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Date of birth	1885
Place of birth
Date of death	1941
Place of death