Folk Nation Folklore in the Creation of American Tradition

by Bronner, Simon J.

• ISBN13: 9780842028912
• ISBN10: 0842028919
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-08-01
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

This lively reader traces the search for American tradition and national identity through folklore and folklife from the 19th century to the present. Through an engaging set of essays, Folk Nation shows how American thinkers and leaders have used folklore-ranging from Paul Bunyan and Davey Crockett to quilts, cowboys, and immigrants-to express the meaning and mystique of their country. Simon Bronner has carefully selected statements by public intellectuals and popular writers as well as by scholars, all chosen for their readability and significance as provocative texts during their time. The common thread running throughout is the value of folklore in expressing or denying an American national tradition.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	p. xi
In Search of American Tradition	p. 3
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 71
The Field of American Folklore (1888-89)	p. 79
The Black Folklore Movement at Hampton Institute (1893-94)	p. 87
Quilts as Emblems of Women's Tradition (1894)	p. 99
American Folk Song (1915)	p. 105
"American" Folklore (1930)	p. 127
American Folklore (1949)	p. 131
The Folk Idea in American Life (1930)	p. 145
Folk Art: Its Place in the American Tradition (1932)	p. 161
Folk Arts: Immigrant Gifts to American Life (1932)	p. 169
American Folksongs of Protest (1953)	p. 177
Folklore and American Regionalism (1966)	p. 189
Border Identity: Culture Conflict and Convergence along the Lower Rio Grande (1978)	p. 199
Life Styles and Legends (1971)	p. 215
Another America: Toward a Behavioral History Based on Folkloristics (1982)	p. 225
American Folklife: A Commonwealth of Cultures (1991) (with text of the Folklife Preservation Act, 1976)	p. 237
Folklife in Contemporary Multicultural Society (1990)	p. 249
Children and Colors: Folk and Popular Cultures in America's Future (1994)	p. 265
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