Grasping Things: Folk Material Culture and Mass Society in America

America stocks its shelves with mass-produced goods but fills its imagination with handmade folk objects. In Pennsylvania, the "back to the city" housing movement causes a conflict of cultures. In Indiana, an old tradition of butchering turtles for church picnics evokes both pride and loathing among residents. In New York, folk-art exhibits raise choruses of adoration and protest. These are a few of the examples Simon Bronner uses to illustrate the ways Americans physically and mentally grasp things. Bronner moves beyond the usual discussions of form and variety in America's folk material culture to explain historical influences on, and the social consequences of, channeling folk culture into a mass society.

1119341764
Grasping Things: Folk Material Culture and Mass Society in America

America stocks its shelves with mass-produced goods but fills its imagination with handmade folk objects. In Pennsylvania, the "back to the city" housing movement causes a conflict of cultures. In Indiana, an old tradition of butchering turtles for church picnics evokes both pride and loathing among residents. In New York, folk-art exhibits raise choruses of adoration and protest. These are a few of the examples Simon Bronner uses to illustrate the ways Americans physically and mentally grasp things. Bronner moves beyond the usual discussions of form and variety in America's folk material culture to explain historical influences on, and the social consequences of, channeling folk culture into a mass society.

35.0 In Stock
Grasping Things: Folk Material Culture and Mass Society in America

Grasping Things: Folk Material Culture and Mass Society in America

by Simon J. Bronner
Grasping Things: Folk Material Culture and Mass Society in America
Add to Wishlist
Grasping Things: Folk Material Culture and Mass Society in America

Grasping Things: Folk Material Culture and Mass Society in America

by Simon J. Bronner

Overview

America stocks its shelves with mass-produced goods but fills its imagination with handmade folk objects. In Pennsylvania, the "back to the city" housing movement causes a conflict of cultures. In Indiana, an old tradition of butchering turtles for church picnics evokes both pride and loathing among residents. In New York, folk-art exhibits raise choruses of adoration and protest. These are a few of the examples Simon Bronner uses to illustrate the ways Americans physically and mentally grasp things. Bronner moves beyond the usual discussions of form and variety in America's folk material culture to explain historical influences on, and the social consequences of, channeling folk culture into a mass society.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780813182742
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Publication date: 05/11/2021
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 272
File size: 14 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Simon J. Bronner is Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences and Dean of the College of General Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is the editor of the four-volume Encyclopedia of American Folklife, Manly Traditions: The Folk Roots of American Masculinities, Consuming Visions: Accumulation and Display of Goods in America, 1880-1920, and other volumes, and the author of several books, including Folk Nation: Folklore in the Creation of American Tradition, Killing Tradition: Inside Hunting and Animal Rights Controversies, Following Tradition: Folklore in the Discourse of American Culture, and The Carver's Art: Crafting Meaning from Wood.


Simon J. Bronner is Distinguished University Professor of American Studies and Folklore and director of the Pennsylvania Center for Culture Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg. He is the editor of the four-volume Encyclopedia of American Folklife, Manly Traditions: The Folk Roots of American Masculinities, Consuming Visions: Accumulation and Display of Goods in America, 1880-1920, and other volumes, and the author of several books, including Folk Nation: Folklore in the Creation of American Tradition, Killing Tradition: Inside Hunting and Animal Rights Controversies, Following Tradition: Folklore in the Discourse of American Culture, and The Carver’s Art: Crafting Meaning from Wood.
From the B&N Reads Blog
Page 1 of

Related Subjects

Social Sciences
Anthropology & Archaeology
Socio-Cultural Anthropology
Socio-Cultural Anthropology - General & Miscellaneous
Social Sciences
Anthropology & Archaeology
Socio-Cultural Anthropology
Socio-Cultural Anthropology - General & Miscellaneous

Customer Reviews