Sona Burstein
Sona Rosa Burstein (1897–1971) was a museum curator, folklorist and historian of gerontology.
Education
Born in 1897, she qualified from the University of Wales in 1920 with an honours degree in Classics. In 1928 she qualified from Oxford University with a postgraduate diploma in Anthropology (with a distinction in Social Anthropology).[1]
Career
Burstein joined the staff of the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum in 1928, where she worked till her retirement in 1957. Her focus was on the cataloguing and display of Wellcome's ethnographic collections.[1]
Burstein also researched topics around gerontology, a research interest which had begun during her time at Oxford.[2]
Folklorist
Burstein was a long-standing member of the Folklore Society, joining the Society in 1923 and later serving as its President between 1956 and 1959. She was also a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute (elected in 1932).[1]
The Presidential Addresses Burstein gave to the Folklore Society showcased the diversity of her interests: 'George Laurence Gomme and the Science of Folklore' (1957),[3] 'Eighty Years of Folklore: Evaluations and Revaluations' (1958)[4] and 'Folklore, Rumour and Prejudice' (1959).[5]
Selected publications
- Burstein, S. R. (1946-07-01). "Gerontology". Postgraduate Medical Journal. 22 (249): 185–190. PMID20276642.
- Burstein, S. R. (1948), 'Care of the Aged in England: From Mediaeval Times to the End of the 16th Century'. Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 22 (6): 738–746. JSTOR44442233.
- Burstein, S. R. (1952-04-16). "Public health and prevention of disease in primitive communities". The Medical Press. 227 (16): 370–375. PMID14940255.
- Burstein, S. R. (1953-08). "Objectives and techniques in the psychosocial study of old age". Geriatrics. 8 (8): 453–458. PMID13068598.
- Burstein, S. R. (1955-04). "The historical background of gerontology". Geriatrics. 10 (4): 189–193. PMID14366241.
- Burstein, S. R. (1956-03-01). "Demonology and Medicine in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries". Folklore. 67 (1): 16–33. ISSN0015-587X.
- Burstein, S. R. (1957-08). "The foundations of geriatrics". Geriatrics. 12 (8): 494–499. PMID13448391
- Burstein, S. R. (1961-09-01). "Some Modern Books on Witchcraft". Folklore. 72 (3): 520–534. ISSN0015-587X.