Handbook of Spanish Popular Culture - by Edward Stanton (Hardcover)

About the Book

Spanish popular culture is one of the richest in the world. The absence of an efficient ruling class has allowed the people to stamp their personality on all major aspects of the country's life. This book describes the peculiar Spanish feeling for death and tragedy in popular religious practices, music and the bullfight; the fiesta sense of life, so foreign to the work ethic of other Western countries; the oral tradition that has managed to survive into the post-industrial age with its creative use of slang, proverbs and obscenity; popular literature, the press, radio, television and the movies.

Students and scholars will appreciate the first comprehensive treatment of Spanish popular culture in a single volume. The author has done first-hand research in all the major regions of Spain and has compiled a list of major archives and resource centers. An extensive bibliography on the major fields of popular Spanish culture is included at the end of each chapter.

Book Synopsis

Spanish popular culture is one of the richest in the world. The absence of an efficient ruling class has allowed the people to stamp their personality on all major aspects of the country's life. This book describes the peculiar Spanish feeling for death and tragedy in popular religious practices, music and the bullfight; the fiesta sense of life, so foreign to the work ethic of other Western countries; the oral tradition that has managed to survive into the post-industrial age with its creative use of slang, proverbs and obscenity; popular literature, the press, radio, television and the movies.

Students and scholars will appreciate the first comprehensive treatment of Spanish popular culture in a single volume. The author has done first-hand research in all the major regions of Spain and has compiled a list of major archives and resource centers. An extensive bibliography on the major fields of popular Spanish culture is included at the end of each chapter.

Review Quotes

.,."nobody could have written this book better than Edward Stanton."-Dr. Fernando Claramunt Professor Emeritus of Psychology Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain

"A book like this has been sorely needed for many years now.... The Handbook of Spanish Popular Culture will be an essential reference tool for students and scholars of Spain and the best introduction possible for the educated general reader and traveller."-Timothy Mitchell Professor of Spanish Texas A&M University

About the Author

EDWARD F. STANTON is Professor of Spanish and was named in 1988 the first Bingham Professor in the Humanities at the University of Kentucky./e He is the author of numerous books and articles on various aspects of Hispanic life and culture.