A Companion to Folklore presents an original and comprehensive collection of essays from international experts in the field of folklore studies. Unprecedented in depth and scope, this state-of-the-art collection uniquely displays the vitality of folklore research across the globe.

Notes on Contributors viii Introduction 1 Regina F. Bendix and Galit Hasan-Rokem Part I Concepts and Phenomena 7 Introduction: Concepts and Phenomena 9 Regina F. Bendix and Galit Hasan-Rokem 1 The Social Base of Folklore 13 Dorothy Noyes 2 Tradition Without End 40 Francisco Vaz da Silva 3 The Poetics of Folklore 55 Amy Shuman and Galit Hasan-Rokem 4 Three Aspects of Oral Textuality 75 Peter Seitel 5 Performance 94 Richard Bauman 6 Myth-Ritual-Symbol 119 Hagar Salamon and Harvey E. Goldberg 7 Religious Practice 136 Sabina Magliocco 8 Work and Professions 154 Gertraud Koch 9 Material Culture 169 Orvar Löfgren Part II Location 185 Introduction: Location 187 Regina F. Bendix and Galit Hasan-Rokem 10 Translingual Folklore and Folklorics in China 190 Lydia H. Liu 11 Japan 211 Akiko Mori 12 India 234 Sadhana Naithani 13 Oceania 248 Phillip H. McArthur 14 Folklore and Folklore Studies in Latin America 265 Fernando Fischman 15 Folklore Studies in the United States 286 Lee Haring and Regina F. Bendix 16 Dancing Around Folklore: Constructing a National Culture in Turkey 305 Arzu Öztürkmen 17 Folklore Studies In Israel 325 Dani Schrire and Galit Hasan-Rokem 18 Fulani (Peul, Fulfulde, Pulaar) Literature 349 Ursula Baumgardt 19 From Volkskunde to the “Field of Many Names”: Folklore Studies in German-Speaking Europe Since 1945 364 Regina F. Bendix 20 Finland 391 Lauri Harvilahti 21 Ireland 409 Diarmuid Ó Giolláin 22 Russia 426 Alexander Panchenko Part III Reflection 443 Introduction: Reflection 445 Regina F. Bendix and Galit Hasan-Rokem 23 Folklore and Literature 447 Cristina Bacchilega 24 Folklore and/in Music 464 Stephen D. Winick 25 Folklore and/on Film 483 Pauline Greenhill 26 Cultural Heritage 500 Valdimar T. Hafstein 27 Cultural Property 520 Martin Skrydstrup 28 Folklore: Legal and Constitutional Power 537 Alison Dundes Renteln Part IV Practice 555 Introduction: Practice Regina F. Bendix and Galit Hasan-Rokem 557 29 Seeing, Hearing, Feeling, Writing: Approaches and Methods from the Perspective of Ethnological Analysis of the Present 559 Brigitta Schmidt-Lauber 30 Imagining Public Folklore 579 Debora Kodish 31 The Institutionalization of Folklore 598 Bjarne Rogan Index 631

BLACKWELL COMPANIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY A Companion to Folklore "A Companion to Folklore is nothing if not international, and this quality alone distinguishes it from most earlier reference works and makes it an important resource for the field." Western Folklore "Nearly all college and university libraries will want this book. Summing up: Essential." Choice "This book presents challenging and inspiring essays about a field that is often misconceived as the harbor of tradition. The volume succeeds in representing folklore as a vital component of human existence and folkloristics as an indispensable discipline within the humanities." Prof. Dr. Ulrich Marzolph, Enzyklopädie des Märchens, Göttingen "Magisterial, engaging, smart, and always thought-provoking, A Companion to Folklore both reflects and will help shape the broad and increasingly interdisciplinary ambit - and promise - of the field." Don Brenneis, University of California, Santa Cruz A Companion to Folklore contains an original and comprehensive set of essays from international experts in the field of folklore studies. This state-of-the-art collection uniquely displays the vitality of folklore research across the globe. The Companion covers four main areas: the first section engages with the practices and theoretical approaches developed to understand the phenomena of folklore; the second discusses the distinctive shapes that folklore studies have taken in different locations in time and space; the third examines the interaction of folklore with various media, as well as folklore's commodification. In the final section on practice, essays offer insights into how folklorists work, what they do, and ways in which they have institutionalized their field. The result is a unique reflection and understanding of the profoundly different research histories and current perspectives on international research in the field.

“A Companion to Folklore is nothing if not international, and this quality alone distinguishes it from most earlier reference works and makes it an important resource for the field.”  -Western Folklore “Nearly all college and university libraries will want this book.  Summing Up: Essential." -Choice “This book presents challenging and inspiring essays about a field that is often misconceived as the harbor of tradition. The volume succeeds in representing folklore as a vital component of human existence and folkloristics as an indispensable discipline within the humanities.” -  Prof. Dr. Ulrich Marzolph, Enzyklopädie des Märchens, Göttingen “Magisterial, engaging, smart, and always thought-provoking, A Companion to Folklore both reflects and will help shape the broad and increasingly interdisciplinary ambit - and promise - of the field.” - Don Brenneis, University of California, Santa Cruz "This comprehensive companion to folklore represents the best recent work and an exciting vision of what folklore can offer other disciplines." - Barbara Kirshenblatt Gimblett, New York University "Magisterial in its scope at bursting at every seam with information, Bendix and Hasan-Rokem's A Companion to Folklore will spark a rich transnational conversation regarding future directions for folkloristics." - Charles L. Briggs, co-author of Voices of Modernity