Encyclopedia Of Asian American Folklore And Folklife

This comprehensive compilation of entries documents the origins, transmissions, and transformations of Asian American folklore and folklife. Equally instructive and intriguing, the Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife provides an illuminating overview of Asian American folklore as a way of life. Surveying the histories, peoples, and cultures of numerous Asian American ethnic and cultural groups, the work covers everything from ancient Asian folklore, folktales, and folk practices that have been transmitted and transformed in America to new expressions of Asian American folklore and folktales unique to the Asian American historical and contemporary experiences. The encyclopedia's three comprehensive volumes cover an extraordinarily wide range of Asian American cultural and ethnic groups, as well as mixed-race and mixed-heritage Asian Americans. Each group section is introduced by a historical overview essay followed by short entries on topics such as ghosts and spirits, clothes and jewelry, arts and crafts, home decorations, family and community, religious practices, rituals, holidays, music, foodways, literature, traditional healing and medicine, and much, much more. Topics and theories are examined from crosscultural and interdisciplinary perspectives to add to the value of the work.

Asian American Identities and Practices: Folkloric Expressions in Everyday Life probes the intersection, interplay, and interconnection of Asian and Asian American folklore and folklife in globally fluid and culturally creative landscapes among Asian American communities and subjects. Asian American folklore, as a way of life and practice, has emerged and continues to emerge as Asian Americans lay claim and take root in the American mosaic. As such, the contributors in this volume all show how the Asian American historical experiences and continued international migration inform the production of new folkloric practices, subjectivities, and ideologies, which in turn strengthen specific Asian American ways of life while normalizing folklore that are squarely produced in Asian America. This collectionillustrates that Asian American folklore and folklife is interwoven with social relationships, the creation of various types of ethnic, cultural, and national identities, and adaptive strategies within the particular historical periods, communities, and shifting boundaries and demographics of Asian America. The global context of Asian American folklore and folklife, especially in the racially charged post-9/11 context, bespeaks how Asians, past and present, maneuver the cultural spaces of their host society and old traditions to create new sites and new opportunities for cultural folkloric production and expression in everyday life.

Topics covered include: Abortion; Banshee; Barbie Doll; Best Friend; Cinderella; Courtship; Cowgirl; Cyber culture; Erotic Folklore; Folk Photography; Glass Ceiling; Hair; Hip Hop Culture/Rap; Lesbian and Queer Studies; Marriage; Menstruation; Muslim Women's Folklore; Photocopy Lore; Quilt making; and many more. In addition, there are entries on women's folklore and folklife in 15 regions of the world, such as the Caribbean, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe. Entries provide cross-references and cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected bibliography of print and electronic resources. Students learning about history, world cultures, religion and spirituality, healing and traditional medicine, and literature will welcome this companion to the daily life of women across time and continents. FEATURES AND BENEFITS: 4 substantial overview essays survey the present state of scholarship on women's folklore and folklife around the world.

Offers approximately 270 essays on topics in American folklife as diverse as chain letters, the Internet, Little Havana, fans of heavy metal music, Wiccans, and zydeco.

The Oxford Handbook of American Folklore and Folklife Studies surveys the materials, approaches, concepts, and applications of the field to provide a sweeping guide to American folklore and folklife, culture, history, and society. Forty-three comprehensive and diverse chapters delve into significant themes and methods of folklore and folklife study; established expressions and activities; spheres and locations of folkloric action; and shared cultures and common identities. Beyond the longstanding arenas of academic focus developed throughout the 350-year legacy of folklore and folklife study, contributors at the forefront of the field also explore exciting new areas of attention that have emerged in the twenty-first century such as the Internet, bodylore, folklore of organizations and networks, sexual orientation, neurodiverse identities, and disability groups. Encompassing a wide range of cultural traditions in the United States, from bits of slang in private conversations to massive public demonstrations, ancient beliefs to contemporary viral memes, and a simple handshake greeting to group festivals, these chapters consider the meanings in oral, social, and material genres of dance, ritual, drama, play, speech, song, and story while drawing attention to tradition-centered communities such as the Amish and Hasidim, occupational groups and their workaday worlds, and children and other age groups. Weaving together such varied and manifest traditions, this handbook pays significant attention to the cultural diversity and changing national boundaries that have always been distinctive in the American experience, reflecting on the relative youth of the nation; global connections of customs brought by immigrants; mobility of residents and their relation to an indigenous, urbanized, and racialized population; and a varied landscape and settlement pattern. Edited by leading folklore scholar Simon J. Bronner, this handbook celebrates the extraordinary richness of the American social and cultural fabric, offering a valuable resource not only for scholars and students of American studies, but also for the global study of tradition, folk arts, and cultural practice.

Written by an international team of acclaimed folklorists, this reference text provides a cross-cultural survey of the major types and methods of inquiry in folklore. Did you know that the tale of Cinderella is over 1,000 years old, and similar versions of this singular story exist in hundreds of cultures around the globe? Have you heard of "deathlore," a subgenre of folklore involving tombstones, coffins, cemeteries, and roadside memorial shrines? Did you realize that UFO sightings and cyber cultures constitute modern folklore? The broad field of folklore studies, developed over the past two centuries, provides significant insights into many aspects of human culture. While the term "folklore" conjures images of ancient practices and beliefs or folk heroes and traditional stories, it also applies to today's ever-changing cultural landscape. Even certain aspects of modern Internet-based popular culture and contemporary rites of passage represent folklore. This encyclopedia covers all the major genres of both ancient and contemporary folklore. This second edition adds more than 100 entries that examine the folklore practices of major ethnic groups, folk heroes, creatures of myth and legend, and emerging areas of interest in folklore studies.

This encyclopedia contains 50 thorough profiles of the most numerically significant immigrant groups now making their homes in the United States, telling the story of our newest immigrants and introducing them to their fellow Americans. One of the main reasons the United States has evolved so quickly and radically in the last 100 years is the large number of ethnically diverse immigrants that have become part of its population. People from every area of the world have come to America in an effort to realize their dreams of more opportunity and better lives, either for themselves or for their children. This book provides a fascinating picture of the lives of immigrants from 50 countries who have contributed substantially to the diversity of the United States, exploring all aspects of the immigrants' lives in the old world as well as the new. Each essay explains why these people have come to the United States, how they have adjusted to and integrated into American society, and what portends for their future. Accounts of the experiences of the second generation and the effects of relations between the United States and the sending country round out these unusually rich and demographically detailed portraits.

Providing comprehensive coverage of a variety of Asian American cultural forms, including folk tradition, literature, religion, education, politics, sports, and popular culture, this two-volume work is an ideal resource for students and general readers that reveals the historical, regional, and ethnic diversity within specific traditions. An invaluable reference for school and public libraries as well as academic libraries at colleges and universities, this two-volume encyclopedia provides comprehensive coverage of a variety of Asian American cultural forms that enables readers to understand the history, complexity, and contemporary practices in Asian American culture. The contributed entries address the diversity of a group comprising people with geographically discrete origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, identifying the rich variations across the category of Asian American culture that are key to understanding specific cultural expressions while also pointing out some commonalities. Entries are organized alphabetically and cover topics in the arts; education and politics; family and community; gender and sexuality; history and immigration; holidays, festivals, and folk tradition; literature and culture; media, sports, and popular culture; and religion, belief, and spirituality. Entries also broadly cover Asian American origins and history, regional practices and traditions, contemporary culture, and art and other forms of shared expression. Accompanying sidebars throughout serve to highlight key individuals, major events, and significant artifacts and allow readers to better appreciate the Asian American experience.

South Asia is a distant, exotic place to most American students. It is also a land of diverse and fascinating cultures, exemplified by the folklore of the region. This book gives students and general readers a thorough introduction to South Asian folklore. Included are chapters on different types of folklore, the place of folklore in popular culture, and the scholarly response to South Asian folklore. The volume also provides numerous legends, tales, myths, riddles, jokes, and other examples of folklore from South Asia. The book closes with a glossary and a bibliography of print and electronic resources. To most American students, South Asia is a distant and exotic world. It is the birthplace of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, and the home of hundreds of languages. It is also a region of growing economic importance. Students, travellers, and general readers increasingly need to understand the regions's cultures and customs, at the heart of which is a rich and varied folklore. This book is a brief but thorough introduction to folklore from South Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The volume begins with an overview of the cultural background of South Asia, and examines different types of folklore and the difficulties of defining and classifying folklore genres. It then provides a substantial selection of legends, tales, myths, riddles, jokes, and other pieces of folklore from South Asia. This is followed by a look at research on the subject, along with an exploration of South Asian folklore in literature and popular culture. The volume closes with a glossary and a bibliography of print and electronic resources.