Folklore Concepts

Dan Ben-Amos is Professor of Folklore and Comparative Literature in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania. He is author of numerous titles, including Sweet Words, Folklore in Context, Jewish Folk Literature; translator of In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov (with Jerome Mintz); and editor of Folklore: Performance and Communication (with Kenneth S. Goldstein), Folklore Genres, and volumes 1 through 3 of Folktales of the Jews. He is also editor of the Rafael Patai Series in Jewish Folklore and Anthropology at Wayne State University Press.

Now 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)

• The Project / Henry GlassieThe Contours of the Book / Elliott OringForeword / Dan Ben-Amos1. The Idea of Folklore: An Essay2. The Encounter with Native Americans and the Emergence of Folklore3. Toward a Definition of Folklore in Context4. Analytical Categories and Ethnic Genres5. The Seven Strands of Tradition: Varieties in Its Meaning in American Folklore Studies6. A History of Folklore Studies – Why Do We Need It?7. The Concept of Motif in Folklore8. "Context" in Context9. Two Benin Storytellers10. "Induced Natural Context" in Context11. The Name is the Thing12. A Definition of Folklore: A Personal NarrativeBibliographyIndex