Ray Broadus Browne ( "brown"; January 15, 1922 – October 22, 2009) was an American educator, author, and founder of the academic study of

popular culture in the United States The culture of the United States encompasses various social behaviors, institutions, and Social norm, norms, including forms of Languages of the United States, speech, American literature, literature, Music of the United States, music, Visual a ...

. He was Distinguished Professor Emeritus at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

(BGSU) in

Bowling Green, Ohio Bowling Green is a city in Wood County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 30,808 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, it is part of the Toledo metropolitan area and ...

. He founded the first (and only) academic Department of Popular Culture at BGSU in 1972, and is the founding editor of the ''

Journal of Popular Culture ''The Journal of Popular Culture'' (''JPC'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes academic essays on all aspects of popular or mass culture. It is published six times a year, printed by Wiley-Blackwell. As of Summer 2022, the edito ...

'', the ''Journal of American Culture'', and the

Popular Press Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises bot ...

(a university-based press that published hundreds of books on

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

). He also founded the Library for Popular Culture Studies (BPCL) at BGSU (which today bears his name), the Popular Culture Association, and the American Culture Association. His particular area of specialization was American popular literature, and he was an authority on

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

, the popular culture surrounding

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and the influence of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

American popular music American popular music (also referred to as "American Pop") is popular music produced in the United States and is a part of American pop culture. Distinctive styles of American popular music emerged early in the 19th century, and in the 20th ...

Early life

Ray Browne was born in

Millport, Alabama Millport is a town in Lamar County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1887. At the 2010 census the population was 1,049, down from 1,160 in 2000. After its incorporation from 1890 to 1900, it was the largest town in Lamar County, losin ...

, on January 15, 1922, the youngest of four children. His father, Garfield Browne, was a bank manager and later bank president of various small-town banks in the south. Browne's mother was Anne Nola Browne (née Trull). The family moved on numerous occasions during Browne's early life as his father sought new opportunities in banking. Browne lived for short periods of time in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and for longer periods in

Epes, Alabama Epes is a town in Sumter County, Alabama, United States. Initially called Epes Station, it was incorporated as Epes in 1899. At the 2010 census the population was 192, down from 206 in 2000. Geography Epes is located near Jones Bluff, overlo ...

, and, off and on, in Millport, Alabama. The family finally settled in Millport, where Browne graduated from high school. Browne's father lost his bank, his job, and his life savings in the stock market crash of 1929, and he grew up in poverty during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

College and World War II

Browne attended the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

due to the encouragement of a high school teacher, Elbert Coleman, and the financial support of his sister Joan. Following graduation, he immediately entered the U.S. Army and served in an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

corps in the European theater in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His unit entered Europe at

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and was part of the allied thrust that drove the Germans back into Germany. His corps was in Germany at the war’s end. Following the war, Browne was one of thousands of GIs who stayed in Europe for a year. He studied

and early

Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Philosophy was used to make sense of the world using reason. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy, epistemology, mathematics, political philosophy, ethics, metaphysic ...

at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

and literature at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

in England.

Early academic life

Browne returned to the United States and entered the master's program at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, graduating with a degree in

Victorian literature Victorian era, Victorian literature is English literature during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). In the Victorian era, the novel became the leading literary genre in English. English writing from this era reflects the major transform ...

. From there he took a faculty position in English at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, where he was influenced by recently retired folklorist

Louise Pound Louise Pound (June 30, 1872 – June 28, 1958) was an American folklorist, linguist, and college professor at the University of Nebraska. In 1955, Pound was the first woman elected president of the Modern Language Association, and in the same y ...

. Following two years of teaching, he entered the Ph.D. program in English at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

in 1950. His two mentors at UCLA were the famed Americanist Leon Howard and well-known folklorist Wayland Hand. Browne's dissertation was on the topic of Alabama folksongs. His dissertation was later turned into a book entitled ''The Alabama Folk Lyric: A Study in the Origins and Media of Dissemination'' (1979). He received his Ph.D. in 1956. Upon graduation from UCLA, Browne took a job as an assistant professor at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. He served on the faculty for four years before moving to

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( ) is a city in and is the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Lafayette ...

in 1960. His years at Purdue were distinguished by significant professional advancement. He published numerous books in the area of American culture and literature that would lay the foundation for his later works, including ''Critical Approaches to American Literature: Roger Williams to

'' (1965, with Martin Light), ''New Voices in American Studies'' (1966, with Donald Winkleman and Allen Hayman), and ''Frontiers of American Culture'' (1967, with Richard Crowder, Virgil Lokke, and William Stafford). His years at Purdue were also marked by a growing conviction that English departments were not teaching a wide enough spectrum of literature. In particular, Browne believed that popular literature was unduly ignored (and denigrated) by traditional academics. In 1967, Browne moved to the Department of English at Bowling Green State University in

, where he saw an opportunity to begin teaching courses in popular culture and American culture on a wide scale.

Primary academic life

In his early years at B.G.S.U., Browne founded the ''

'' (JPC) in 1967 and the Center for the Study of Popular Culture in 1968. JPC was the first peer-reviewed journal for scholarly work in the area of

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

. His early efforts in the Department of English led in 1973 to the establishment of a separate Department of Popular Culture which began by offering an M.A. program, followed by the establishment of the undergraduate major a year later. This department was the first formal attempt to promote serious scholarly inquiry into what most people do with most of their free time. The Department of Popular Culture quickly grew and continues to flourish at B.G.S.U. today. Browne was named a Distinguished University Professor at BGSU in 1977 and taught there until his retirement in 1992. In 1970, Browne founded the

to publish books on popular culture and the popular arts. His wife Pat soon became the manager of the press and was the driving force through its growth as the premier publishing outlet for academic books on popular culture until her retirement in 2002. At that point the Popular Press was acquired by the

University of Wisconsin Press The University of Wisconsin Press (sometimes abbreviated as UW Press) is a Non-profit organization, non-profit university press publishing Peer review, peer-reviewed books and journals. It publishes work by scholars from the global academic comm ...

. In 1969, Browne founded and began to develop the Popular Culture Library at B.G.S.U. This library now holds 190,000 catalogued books and many hundreds of thousands of additional materials (e.g.,

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

s, photos, games, postcards, posters). It is one of the most important collections of popular culture artifacts in the world. The library is now named the Ray and Pat Browne Popular Culture Library. In 1970, Browne founded the Popular Culture Association as an organization to promote the study of popular culture. In 1979, he founded the American Culture Association to promote specifically the study of

American culture The culture of the United States encompasses various social behaviors, institutions, and Social norm, norms, including forms of Languages of the United States, speech, American literature, literature, Music of the United States, music, Visual a ...

, and the same year was founding editor of the Journal of American Culture. In 1971, Browne organized the first national conference of the Popular Culture Association. This conference showcased the broad conceptual thinking and foundational ideas that would lead to the widespread teaching of popular culture at American and international universities. The conference grew quickly in size and participation, and for many years has featured the presentation of more than 2000

academic paper Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes Research, academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or Thesis, theses. The part of academic written output that is n ...

s at each conference. The 2009 conference in New Orleans marked the 39th annual conference. In 1979, Browne helped organize the first national conference of the American Culture Association. This conference is held in conjunction with the Popular Culture Association Conference and marked its 30th anniversary with the 2009 conference. Browne had numerous colleagues with whom he worked in developing the academic study of popular culture, including Russel B. Nye of

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

Marshall Fishwick Marshall William Fishwick (July 5, 1923 – May 22, 2006) was an American multidisciplinary scholar, professor, writer, and editor who started the academic movement known as popular culture studies and established the journal ''International ...

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, Carl Bode of the

, John Cawelti of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, Michael Marsden of Bowling Green State University (now Academic Vice President at St. Norbert College), Daniel Walden of

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, and Peter Rollins of

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

Bibliography

Ray Browne's works through the years laid the conceptual foundations for the study of popular culture. 4

Essays

* "Popular Culture: Notes Toward a Definition", which first appeared in the book ''Popular Culture and Curricula'' (1972, edited by Ray Browne and Ronald Ambrosetti),

Books

* ''Popular Beliefs and Practices from Alabama (1958)'' * ''Challenges in American Culture (1970, with Larry Landrum and W.K. Bottorff)'' * ''Icons of Popular Culture (1970, with Marshall Fishwick)'' * ''Melville's Drive to Humanism (1971)'' * ''Popular Culture and the Expanding Consciousness'' (1973), * ''The Popular Culture Explosion'' (1972, with David Madden) * ''Heroes of Popular Culture'' (1972, with Marshall Fishwick and Michael Marsden) * ''Dimensions of Detective Fiction'' (1976, with Larry Landrum and Pat Browne) * ''A Night With the Hants & Other Alabama Folk Experiences'' (1976) * ''Icons of America'' (1978, with Marshall Fishwick) * ''Rituals and Ceremonies in Popular Culture'' (1980) * ''Objects of Special Devotion:

Fetishism A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent non-material value, or powers, to an object. Talismans and amulet ...

in Popular Culture'' (1982) * ''Against Academia'' (Popular Press, 1989; a semi-autobiographical book) * ''Dominant Symbols in Popular Culture'' (1990, with Marshall Fishwick and Kevin O. Browne) * ''The Many Tongues of Literacy'' (1992) * ''Continuities in Popular Culture: The Present in the Past & the Past in the Present and Future'' (1993, with Ronald Ambrosetti) * ''The Detective as Historian: History and Art in Historical Crime Fiction'' (2000, with Lawrence Kreiser) * ''Ordinary Reactions to Extraordinary Events'' (2001, with

Arthur Neal Arthur Neal (23 September 1862 – 29 January 1933) was a British politician. Born in Sheffield, Neal attended Wesley College before becoming a solicitor. He was also the President of Sheffield's Chamber of Commerce. Political career Neal wa ...

) * ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture'' (2001, with Pat Browne) * ''Mission Underway: The History of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association and the Popular Culture Movement 1967–2001'' (2002) * ''Popular Culture Studies Across the Curriculum'' (2005) * ''Profiles of Popular Culture: A Reader'' (2005) Browne also published hundreds of essays and articles in

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

s and published hundreds of book reviews, most notably in the ''Journal of American Culture''.

International conferences and travel

As a means of promoting the academic study of popular culture internationally, Ray and Pat Browne organized numerous conferences in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from 1978 until 2001. These included a 1978 conference at

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

, a 1980 conference at

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, 1993 at

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, 1995 at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, 1997 at York, 1999 at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, and 2001 at Cambridge. In addition to their international conferences, Ray and Pat made two round-the-world trips on behalf of the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

to promote the study of American popular culture. Their travels led them to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

The term "popular culture"

Ray Browne was credited with coining the term "popular culture" in 1967; however, he did not originate this term.Although the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' lists the first use as 1854, it appears in an address by

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (; ; ; 12 January 1746 – 17 February 1827) was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach. He founded several educational institutions both in German- and French-speaking ...

in 1818: In 1973, Browne created the first

academic program An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into und ...

dedicated to studying popular culture at Bowling Green University. Browne created this program because he wanted to know the effects of society on culture and the effects of culture on society. Browne stressed to scholars that it was important to learn about the irrelevant changes in peoples' lives. However, many scholars criticized Browne for trying to belittle their teachings when he created the "popular culture department". Browne's work inspired other universities to offer classes that explore popular culture.

Publicity

Browne's work in popular culture was recognized not only in academia, but also by news organizations. Through the years he appeared twice on the ''

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featu ...

'', twice on the ''

Phil Donahue Show ''The Phil Donahue Show'' is an American talk show that was hosted by Phil Donahue. The show ran for twenty-nine seasons from November 6, 1967, to September 13, 1996, in which it broadcast 6,715 episodes. Before it was placed in Broadcast synd ...

'', twice on the '' Geraldo Rivera Show'', and on

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, and was quoted in hundreds of magazines and newspapers including ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'', and many others.

Personal life and death

Browne married Olwyn Carmen Orde in 1952. They had three children: Glenn (born 1956), Kevin (born 1958), and Rowan (born 1961). Olwyn and Rowan were killed in an automobile accident in 1964. Browne was re-married in 1965 to Alice Maxine (Pat) Matthews (born 1932). They had a daughter, Alicia (born 1967). Pat helped Browne develop the popular culture movement through her management of the Popular Press and her role as a principal organizer of the Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association conferences and the international popular culture conferences from the 1970s until her

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

in 2002. She also edited the scholarly journal ''Clues: A Journal of Detection'' for many years. Ray and Pat together edited the compendium volume ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture'' (Popular Press, 2001). Ray and Pat Browne lived in retirement in Bowling Green, Ohio where Browne continued to write and serve as book review editor for the ''Journal of American Culture'' until his death. Browne died in his home in Bowling Green, Ohio on October 22, 2009.

Notes

References

* Hoppenstand, Gary, "Ray and Pat Browne: Scholars of Everyday Life" in ''Pioneers in Popular Culture'' (Popular Press, 1999).

External links

Conversations with Scholars of American Popular Culture. Featured Guest: Ray B. Browne

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Ray B. 1922 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American educators People from Lamar County, Alabama Place of death missing People from Bowling Green, Ohio Educators from Ohio Bowling Green State University faculty United States Army personnel of World War II