Story - by Jacqueline Thursby (Hardcover)
About this item
Highlights
- Folklore is the cultural expression of a people, and it makes up key elements of the stories they tell.
- About the Author: Jacqueline S. Thursby is Associate Professor of English at Brigham Young University, where she specializes in folklore studies.
- 200 Pages
- Social Science, Folklore & Mythology
Description
About the Book
Folklore is the cultural expression of a people, and it makes up key elements of the stories they tell. Using easily accessible language, this book defines, separates, and gracefully weaves together story and folklore. From the ancient world of traveling bards in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, to the contemporary world of storytelling festivals, fan fiction, and digital story conferences, this reference unravels confusion between concepts of folklore and story, and demonstrates how they are linked. Included are numerous examples and texts, a review of critical approaches, and a discussion of story in literature and popular culture.
Story informs folklore, and folklore informs story. The complex relationship between them is compounded by many definitions and points of view generated by scholars over time. Humans construct their sense of the world through story, vernacular transmission, and folklore. Folklore is the cultural expression of people, and it makes up the key elements of the stories they tell. Written for high school students and general readers, this reference conveniently overviews story as a folklore genre.
Book Synopsis
Folklore is the cultural expression of a people, and it makes up key elements of the stories they tell. Using easily accessible language, this book defines, separates, and gracefully weaves together story and folklore. From the ancient world of traveling bards in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, to the contemporary world of storytelling festivals, fan fiction, and digital story conferences, this reference unravels confusion between concepts of folklore and story, and demonstrates how they are linked. Included are numerous examples and texts, a review of critical approaches, and a discussion of story in literature and popular culture.
Story informs folklore, and folklore informs story. The complex relationship between them is compounded by many definitions and points of view generated by scholars over time. Humans construct their sense of the world through story, vernacular transmission, and folklore. Folklore is the cultural expression of people, and it makes up the key elements of the stories they tell. Written for high school students and general readers, this reference conveniently overviews story as a folklore genre.Review Quotes
"The Greenwood Folklore Handbooks are designed as reference sources for high school and undergraduate students....Jacqueline Thursby's new book is an accessible and interesting contribution to this series. It will serve as an useful introduction to major storytelling genres and significant texts, and the book also provides a helpful overview of important scholarship about folklore....The book succeeds as a handbook for beginning students and a general audience. The arrangement is logical and helpful, and readers will find Thursby's bibliographic references to be valuable sources for finding good compilations and further scholarship." --Journal of Folklore Research
"Thursby defines and classifies the most prominent type of stories, both oral and written, and shares story examples and narratives from around the world." --American Libraries "For high school and undergraduate students and general readers, Thursby explains the meaning and use of many different kinds of stories, presents a number of exemplary texts, samples scholarly approaches to oral storytelling, and discusses contexts in which stories are told." --Reference & Research Book News "Story: A Handbook offers a clear and readable summary of folk narrative genres and presents an important longitudinal introduction to the study of story as classically understood, with concise articulations of the many genres that encompass narrative and the perspectives that have been brought to bear on it. The book is well suited as an introduction to the study of story, whether for students, teachers or professional storytellers." --Western FolkloreAbout the Author
Jacqueline S. Thursby is Associate Professor of English at Brigham Young University, where she specializes in folklore studies. Her previous books include Mother's Table, Father's Chair: Cultural Narratives of Basque American Women (1999).
