Just over half a century ago, the rise in what became known as the "performance turn" in folklore studies led to the diffusion of performance as both a lens and a key concept across a wide range of humanistic disciplines. Now, it's time to take stock of the myriad ways in which performance and folklore studies have developed along both parallel and intersecting paths.Emerging Perspectives in the Study of Folklore and Performance reveals the captivating world where folklore...

A musical life as glorious metaphor for Florida's cultural landscapeThis biography of 97-year-old Richard Seaman, who grew up in Kissimmee Park, Florida, relies on oral history and folklore research to define the place of musicianship and storytelling in the state's history from one artist's perspective. Gregory Hansen presents Seaman’s assessment of Florida’s changing cultural landscape through his tall tales, personal experience narratives, legends, fidd...

An unprecedented number of folklorists are addressing issues of class, race, gender, and sexuality in academic and public spaces in the US, raising the question: How can folklorists contribute to these contemporary political affairs? Since the nature of folkloristics transcends binaries, can it help others develop critical personal narratives?Advancing Folkloristics covers topics such as queer, feminist, and postcolonial scholarship in folkloristics. Contr...

Florida is blessed with a semitropical climate, beautiful inland areas, and over a thousand miles of warm seas and sandy beaches. And Floridians are every bit as colorful and diverse as the tropical foliage. The interaction between Florida's people and its environment has created distinctive mixes of traditional life unlike those anywhere else in America.Florida's cultural foundation includes Seminoles, Anglo-Celtic Crackers, African Americans, transplanted northerners, and ethnic ...

The Aesop's Fable Paradigm is a collection of essays that explore the cutting-edge intersection of Folklore and Science. From moralizing fables to fantastic folktales, humans have been telling stories about animals—animals who can talk, feel, think, and make moral judgments just as we do—for a very long time. In contrast, scientific studies of the mental lives of animals have professed to be investigating the nature of animal minds slowly, cautiously, objectively, with no room for...

How might the Christian church effectively engage today's politically charged, profit-motivated world while remaining faithful to its biblical and theological roots? The contributors in this book argue that public theology provides a promising pathway forward. The public theology emerging from these pages has been influenced by the theological interests and commitments of Gary M. Simpson, Lutheran pastor and systematic theologian. His approach to public theology is intersectional and globa...

In the antipodean winter of 1629, the Dutch East Indiaman 'Batavia' was wrecked on the desolate cays of the Houtman Abrolhos, an island chain lying beyond the sea horizon of what is now Western Australia.One year later her merchant commander, Francisco Pelsaert, lies dying in a mildewed room outside the walls of Batavia Castle (modern-day Jakarta), the stigma of shipwreck and bloody mutiny foreclosing on his legacy. With only a servant-carer and the occasional visitor to relieve hi...

John Walker's ordinary life takes an unexpected turn when his satellite radio becomes possessed by a mysterious demon. Unbeknownst to John, the demon has access to every detail of his life. In a Faustian twist, the demon offers John a deal that promises to transform his existence.Accepting the devilish pact, John soon finds his reality altered beyond his wildest dreams. He's now wealthy, his marriage is blissful, and his son is destined for stardom. However, as the demon collects i...