Description
Book SynopsisBy defining folklore as artistic communication in small groups, Dan Ben-Amos led the discipline of Folklore in new directions. In Folklore Concepts, Henry Glassie and Elliott Oring have curated a selection of Ben-Amos's groundbreaking essays that explore folklore as a category in cultural communication and as a subject of scholarly research. Ben-Amos's work is well-known for sparking lively debate that often centers on why his definition intrinsically acknowledges tradition rather than expresses its connection forthright. Without tradition among people, there would be no art or communication, and tradition cannot accomplish anything on its ownonly people can. Ben-Amos's focus on creative communication in communities is woven into the themes of the theoretical essays in this volume, through which he advocates for a better future for folklore scholarship. Folklore Concepts traces Ben-Amos's consistent efforts over the span of his career to review and critique the definitions, concepts, a
Trade ReviewNow Folklore Concepts is a more comprehensive anthology, and its significance equals the "greatest hits" volumes of other leading folklorists such as Alan Dundes (2007) and Lauri Honko (2013), whose works belong to the primary readings in academic training. The editors Henry Glassie and Elliott Oring have done an impressive and thoughtful job in selecting the articles, tying them together, and writing the introductions.
-- Ulo Volk * Asian Ethnology *
Table of ContentsThe Project / Henry Glassie
The Contours of the Book / Elliott Oring
Foreword / Dan Ben-Amos
1. The Idea of Folklore: An Essay
2. The Encounter with Native Americans and the Emergence of Folklore
3. Toward a Definition of Folklore in Context
4. Analytical Categories and Ethnic Genres
5. The Seven Strands of Tradition: Varieties in Its Meaning in American Folklore Studies
6. A History of Folklore Studies – Why Do We Need It?
7. The Concept of Motif in Folklore
8. "Context" in Context
9. Two Benin Storytellers
10. "Induced Natural Context" in Context
11. The Name is the Thing
12. A Definition of Folklore: A Personal Narrative
Bibliography
Index
