Tradition in the Twenty-First Century: Locating the Role of the Past in the Present

Eight diverse contributors explore the role of tradition in contemporary folkloristics. For more than a century, folklorists have been interested in locating sources of tradition and accounting for the conceptual boundaries of tradition, but in the modern era, expanded means of communication, research, and travel, along with globalised cultural and economic interdependence, have complicated these pursuits. Tradition is thoroughly embedded in both modern life and at the centre of folklore studies, and a modern understanding of tradition cannot be fully realised without a thoughtful consideration of the pasts role in shaping the present. Emphasising how tradition adapts, survives, thrives, and either mutates or remains stable in todays modern world, the contributors pay specific attention to how traditions now resist or expedite dissemination and adoption by individuals and communities. This complex and intimate portrayal of tradition in the twenty-first century offers a comprehensive overview of the folkloristic and popular conceptualisations of tradition from the past to present and presents a thoughtful assessment and projection of how tradition will fare in years to come. The book will be useful to advanced undergraduate or graduate courses in folklore and will contribute significantly to the scholarly literature on tradition within the folklore discipline.