Following tradition

Following Tradition is an expansive examination of the history of tradition - "one of the most common as well as most contested terms in English language usage" - in Americans' thinking and discourse about culture. References to tradition most frequently concern the informal yet basic customs, beliefs, practices, and myths known as folklore. Hence, much of Simon Bronner's study concerns the history of both folklore studies and the use and interpretation of folklore in public forums. His work is necessarily interdisciplinary. Major figures in the study of tradition, from the Brothers Grimm to Franz Boas to Richard Dorson, receive extensive discussion. An essential text for folklorists, Following Tradition will be a valuable reference as well for historians and anthropologists; students of American studies, popular culture, and cultural studies; and anyone interested in the continuing place of tradition in American culture.