|
In
Search of Authenticity
The Formation of Folklore
Studies
Regina Bendix
"An immediate classic—a major theoretical work that
will be avidly read by folklorists all over the world."
—Alan
Dundes, University of California, Berkeley
Authenticity is a notion much debated, among discussants as diverse
as cultural theorists and art dealers, music critics and tour
operators. The desire to find and somehow capture or protect
the "authentic" narrative, art object, or ceremonial
dance is hardly new. In this masterful examination of German
and American folklore studies from the eighteenth century to
the present, Regina Bendix demonstrates that the longing for
authenticity remains deeply implicated in scholarly approaches
to cultural analysis.
Searches for authenticity, Bendix contends, have been a constant
companion to the feelings of loss inherent in modernization,
forever upholding a belief in a pristine yet endangered cultural
essence and fueling cultural nationalism worldwide. Beginning
with precursors of Herder and Emerson and the "discovery"
of the authentic in expressive culture and literature, she traces
the different, albeit intertwined, histories of German Volkskunde
and American folklore studies. A Swiss native educated in American
folklore programs, Bendix moves effortlessly between the two
traditions, demonstrating how the notion of authenticity was
used not only to foster national causes, but also to lay the
foundations for categories of documentation and analysis within
the nascent field of folklore studies.
Bendix shows that, in an increasingly transcultural world, where
Zulu singers back up Paul Simon and where indigenous artists
seek copyright for their traditional crafts, the politics of
authenticity mingles with the forces of the market. Arguing against
the dichotomies implied in the very idea of authenticity, she
underscores the emptiness of efforts to distinguish between folklore
and fakelore, between echt and ersatz.
Regina Bendix is assistant professor of folklore at the
University of Pennsylvania. A native of Switzerland, she is the
author of several books and many articles about European and
American folklore and folklife, including Backstage Domains:
Playing William Tell in Two Communities. Media & bookseller inquiries regarding review copies, events, and interviews can be directed to the publicity department at publicity@uwpress.wisc.edu or (608) 263-0734. (If you want to examine a book for possible course use, please see our Course Books page. If you want to examine a book for possible rights licensing, please see Rights & Permissions.) |
|
December 1997
LC: 97-11607 GR
320 pp. 6 x 9
"Important for scholars in any discipline
concerned with cultural analysis. In her focus on folklore and
through the tremendous learning and insight she brings to bear
on the 'authentic,' Bendix has provided both a model exploration
of one discipline and a broadly consequential analysis of discourses
at the heart of many."
—Don Brenneis, University of
California, Santa Cruz |
