| Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts: A Guide to Research Practices Contributor(s): Finnegan, Ruth (Author) |
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ISBN: 0415048419 ISBN-13: 9780415048415 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $60.79 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: December 1991 Annotation: "Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts" gives a comprehensive, systematic, and practical introduction to research practices in the elusive sphere of human communication and performance. Finnegan sums up much of the research practice in the terms of oral literature, oral tradition, verbal folklore, folk literature, oral performance, and more recently, popular culture. Ruth Finnegan provides guidance both on the practicalities of field work and on the range of methods by which oral texts and performance can be observed, collected, or analyzed. She takes the reader through all stages of preparing for, conducting, and following up research, including analyzing texts collected by others. Particular emphasis is laid on the recent interdisciplinary work on performance, the "processes" involved in the creation and analysis of texts, and on related ethical issues. The book is also distinctive in its comparative perspective, with examples taken from both historical and modern cultures, ranging from African forms to those from contemporary Europe. The book will make a particular contribution to anthropological research: the kinds of topics discussed here are now attracting increasing attention both for their own interest and their relevance to current anthropological work on such topics as memory, the emotions, artistic expression, and individual creativity. It will be equally relevant for folklorists and for many oral historians--indeed for all those concerned with current interdisciplinary approaches to oral literary performance, comparative communication media, and verbal expression. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Non-classifiable - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social |
| Dewey: 306.072 |
| LCCN: 91-16746 |
| Series: Asa Research Methods |
| Physical Information: 0.68" H x 5.5" W x 8.5" (0.85 lbs) 304 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The study of oral traditions and verbal arts leads into an area of human culture to which anthropologists are increasingly turning their attention. Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts provides up-to-date guidance on how to approach the study of oral form and their performances, treating both the practicalities of fieldwork and the methods by which oral texts and performances can be observed, collected or analysed. It also relates to those current controversies about the nature of performance and of 'text'. |
