Dow, James R.

German professor and scholar James Raymond Dow joined Iowa State as Assistant Professor (1971-1974) in the Department of Foreign Languages. He was promoted to Associate Professor (1974-1980) and Professor (1980-2004) and also served as Chair (1991-1997) of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures (now World Languages and Cultures). After more than 30 years of teaching at Iowa State, he was named Professor Emeritus of German (2004) and officially retired from teaching on January 1, 2005. Dow's primary research interests include 19th and early 20th Century German literature, linguistics, German and American folklore, and German minorities in Iowa, specifically the Old Order Amish of Kalona and the Amana Colonists of Amana. In later years his interest in folklore also extended to Austrian folklore.