Pattern in the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States

What is folk culture? What distinguishes true folk creations from the cultural hybrids of commerce and popular innovation? To clarify this muddled situation and to provide clear standards and visual examples for the study and appreciation of a broad range of objects, Henry Glassie has written this detailed examination of material folk culture in the United States. He isolates American material culture--that segment of our culture that embodies the people's plans, methods, and reasons for producing things that can be seen and touched--and discusses methods for determining whether an object is truly folk--as opposed, say, to merely popular--by examining its form, construction, and use.

The book represents the first attempt to compare different kinds of material folk culture, including architecture, tools, and cookery, to detect common patterns and, in doing so, challenges conventional views of both folk culture and American culture.

Author: Henry Glassie
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Published: 10/01/1971
Pages: 344
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.30w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780812210132

About the Author
Henry Glassie is College Professor of Folklore at Indiana University. He is the author of Art and Life in Bangladesh, The Spirit of Folk Art, All Silver and No Brass: An Irish Christmas Mumming, and Irish Folk History: Tales from the North, which is also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.